CNOTES 2025 2026 NHL NEWS, BEST BETS, AND OPINION !
- Thread starter Cnotes53
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Saturday’s 6-pack
Teams with the most players in the World Baseball Classic:
17- Mets
16- Mariners
15- Phillies
14- Red Sox
14- Royals
14- Brewers
14- Pirates
Quote of the Day
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Lao Tzu
Saturday’s quiz
Who is the New England Patriots’ all-time leader in rushing yards?
Friday’s quiz
Joe Torre is the last player to ground into four double plays in one game; he did it in 1975, the only other guy to do it was in 1934.
Thursday’s quiz
Chicago Bears are the only NFL team to run the opening kickoff of a Super Bowl back for a TD.
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St John’s wins its ninth game in a row.
Loss snaps Huskies’ 18-game winning streak.
Red Storm was 22-31 on foul line, UConn 5-12
Game was 39-39 at halftime.
— RIP to the great QB Sonny Jurgensen, who passed away this week at age 91; he led the NFL in passing five times in an 18-year career, for the Eagles/Redskins. In his career, Jurgensen threw for 32,224 yards, playing in an era when teams didn’t throw that much. RIP, sir.
One of the first NFL games I remember was in 1966; I was six years old. Washington beat the Giants 72-41…..
Washington ran a punt back for a TD, scored two defensive TD’s
The two kickers were brothers; Pete/Charlie Gogolak.
Giants outgained Washington 389-341, but had six turnovers.
In a game with 113 points, both teams had 100+ penalty yards.
— There is only one QB in NFL history who is eligible to be voted into the Hall of Fame who has won a Super Bowl, and also won an MVP award…….Joe Theismann.
— LA Rams are bringing in Kliff Kingsbury in to be an assistant coach next year, which should help their offense, which is already really good.
— World Baseball Classic will have 36 players who were major league All-Stars last year.
— 38-year old 1B Paul Goldschmidt signed up to go back to the Bronx this season; last year, he hit .274 with a .731 OPS in New York.
— Way back in 1976, Ted Turner bought the Atlanta Braves for $12M; he sold the Braves in 2007, for $450M. Pretty good deal.
— OF Michael Siani has played in 160 games the last four years, for the Reds/Cardinals. He’s had an interesting off-season:
November 6th- Braves claimed him off waivers.
December 10th- Braves designated him for assignment
December 12th- Dodgers claimed him off waivers.
January 21st- Dodgers designated him for assignment
January 23rd- Bronx claimed him off waivers.
January 28th- Bronx designated him for assignment.
Spring training starts next week……
— Was disappointed to hear that Buck Martinez retired as a TV announcer this week; he was very good on TV, teamed with Dan Schulman on Blue Jays games.
— Famous birthdays, February 7th:
Burt Hooton, 76
Rolf Benirschke, 71
Carney Lansford, 69
James Spader, 66
Rick Neuheisel, 65
Chris Rock, 61
Billy Joe Tolliver, 60
Juwan Howard, 53
Steve Nash, 52
Ashton Kutcher, 48
Matthew Stafford, 38
Shedeur Sanders, 24
— Last week, Portland Pilots had so many players sick, coach Shantay Legans was playing on the scout team during practice; he tore his achilles. Not ideal.
This week has been better for Portland; they upset Gonzaga as 21-point underdogs, ending a 20-game losing streak against the Zags.
— AAC is doing their conference tournament a little different this year; only 10 of their 13 teams will be in the conference tournament.
— Referee DJ Carstensen has officiated 56 games this season; he played college ball at Utica College in the early 80’s, when the Pioneers made a run at becoming a Division I team. Their coach was Larry Costello, who had coached the Milwaukee Bucks when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a rookie.
Back then, I was student manager at Albany, at the time a really good D-3 program; we played Utica every year, but when they went D-I, we didn’t beat them. Carstensen was a good player.
— Chicago Bulls are 24-28 this year, on the bubble for the last playoff spot in the East; they’ve traded away seven players, and brought in seven new players in an almost complete overhaul of their roster.
— Belmont 68, Ill-Chicago 62
Belmont was 13-31 on the arc, Flames were 3-18
Second loss in row for UIC, after an 8-game win streak.
Belmont has won nine a row, leads MVC by two games.
— There is a woman skiing in the Olympics with a torn ACL; didn’t think that was possible, but it obviously is. She is wearing a knee brace, but still, jeez, she must be very, very tough.
Teams with the most players in the World Baseball Classic:
17- Mets
16- Mariners
15- Phillies
14- Red Sox
14- Royals
14- Brewers
14- Pirates
Quote of the Day
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Lao Tzu
Saturday’s quiz
Who is the New England Patriots’ all-time leader in rushing yards?
Friday’s quiz
Joe Torre is the last player to ground into four double plays in one game; he did it in 1975, the only other guy to do it was in 1934.
Thursday’s quiz
Chicago Bears are the only NFL team to run the opening kickoff of a Super Bowl back for a TD.
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Saturday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but…….
— St John’s 81, UConn 72St John’s wins its ninth game in a row.
Loss snaps Huskies’ 18-game winning streak.
Red Storm was 22-31 on foul line, UConn 5-12
Game was 39-39 at halftime.
— RIP to the great QB Sonny Jurgensen, who passed away this week at age 91; he led the NFL in passing five times in an 18-year career, for the Eagles/Redskins. In his career, Jurgensen threw for 32,224 yards, playing in an era when teams didn’t throw that much. RIP, sir.
One of the first NFL games I remember was in 1966; I was six years old. Washington beat the Giants 72-41…..
Washington ran a punt back for a TD, scored two defensive TD’s
The two kickers were brothers; Pete/Charlie Gogolak.
Giants outgained Washington 389-341, but had six turnovers.
In a game with 113 points, both teams had 100+ penalty yards.
— There is only one QB in NFL history who is eligible to be voted into the Hall of Fame who has won a Super Bowl, and also won an MVP award…….Joe Theismann.
— LA Rams are bringing in Kliff Kingsbury in to be an assistant coach next year, which should help their offense, which is already really good.
— World Baseball Classic will have 36 players who were major league All-Stars last year.
— 38-year old 1B Paul Goldschmidt signed up to go back to the Bronx this season; last year, he hit .274 with a .731 OPS in New York.
— Way back in 1976, Ted Turner bought the Atlanta Braves for $12M; he sold the Braves in 2007, for $450M. Pretty good deal.
— OF Michael Siani has played in 160 games the last four years, for the Reds/Cardinals. He’s had an interesting off-season:
November 6th- Braves claimed him off waivers.
December 10th- Braves designated him for assignment
December 12th- Dodgers claimed him off waivers.
January 21st- Dodgers designated him for assignment
January 23rd- Bronx claimed him off waivers.
January 28th- Bronx designated him for assignment.
Spring training starts next week……
— Was disappointed to hear that Buck Martinez retired as a TV announcer this week; he was very good on TV, teamed with Dan Schulman on Blue Jays games.
— Famous birthdays, February 7th:
Burt Hooton, 76
Rolf Benirschke, 71
Carney Lansford, 69
James Spader, 66
Rick Neuheisel, 65
Chris Rock, 61
Billy Joe Tolliver, 60
Juwan Howard, 53
Steve Nash, 52
Ashton Kutcher, 48
Matthew Stafford, 38
Shedeur Sanders, 24
— Last week, Portland Pilots had so many players sick, coach Shantay Legans was playing on the scout team during practice; he tore his achilles. Not ideal.
This week has been better for Portland; they upset Gonzaga as 21-point underdogs, ending a 20-game losing streak against the Zags.
— AAC is doing their conference tournament a little different this year; only 10 of their 13 teams will be in the conference tournament.
— Referee DJ Carstensen has officiated 56 games this season; he played college ball at Utica College in the early 80’s, when the Pioneers made a run at becoming a Division I team. Their coach was Larry Costello, who had coached the Milwaukee Bucks when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a rookie.
Back then, I was student manager at Albany, at the time a really good D-3 program; we played Utica every year, but when they went D-I, we didn’t beat them. Carstensen was a good player.
— Chicago Bulls are 24-28 this year, on the bubble for the last playoff spot in the East; they’ve traded away seven players, and brought in seven new players in an almost complete overhaul of their roster.
— Belmont 68, Ill-Chicago 62
Belmont was 13-31 on the arc, Flames were 3-18
Second loss in row for UIC, after an 8-game win streak.
Belmont has won nine a row, leads MVC by two games.
— There is a woman skiing in the Olympics with a torn ACL; didn’t think that was possible, but it obviously is. She is wearing a knee brace, but still, jeez, she must be very, very tough.
Sunday’s 6-pack
Tarik Skubal’s salary, the last six years:
2021— $574,000
2022— $714,000
2023— $744,000
2024— $2.65M
2025— $10.15M
2026— $32M
Quote of the Day
“Nothing is really fun unless it’s hard. Embrace the fact that it’s hard.”
Mike Leach
Thursday’s quiz
Who was QB for the Seahawks, the first time they played in a Super Bowl?
Saturday’s quiz
Sam Cunningham is the New England Patriots’ all-time leader in rushing yards.
Friday’s quiz
Joe Torre is the last player to ground into four double plays in one game; he did it in 1975, the only other guy to do it was in 1934.
***************************************
North Carolina 71, Duke 68
Tar Heels hit a 3-pointer with 0:00.4 left, their first lead of game.
Duke led 18-5 right out of the gate.
UNC has won five in a row, is 19-4, 7-3 in ACC.
Clemson 77, California 55
Clemson shot 12-26 on arc, improved to 10-1 in ACC
Cal is shooting only 45.3% inside arc in ACC play (#18 of 18)
Why are these teams in the same league? Seriously?
Bracketology has ACC getting eight teams in NCAA Tournament
42.1% of shots taken in ACC games are 3’s (#4 in country)
— SEC
Oklahoma 92, Vanderbilt 91
Sooners snap a nine-game losing streak.
Oklahoma led by 21 with 4:59 left, hung on for dear life.
Vandy is 3-4 in last seven games, after a 16-0 start.
Tyler Tanner scored 37 points, had nine assists for Vandy.
Alabama 96, Auburn 92
Auburn led by 10 late in first half.
Alabama shot 12-23 on the arc, scored 1.29 ppp.
SEC teams are shooting 39% on arc vs Auburn this year.
Bracketology has SEC getting ten teams in NCAA Tournament
SEC games are the 3rd-fastest of any league in country.
— Big 18
Indiana 78, Wisconsin 77 OT
Wisconsin was up by 4 with 0:57 left in regulation.
Hoosiers shot 61% inside the arc.
Indiana won four of last five games, is 7-6 in conference.
Michigan State 85, Illinois 82 OT
MSU’s Jeremy Fears scored 26 points, had 15 assists.
Loss snaps Illinois’ 12-game winning streak.
Spartans won eight of their last ten games.
Bracketology has Big 18 getting 11 teams in NCAA Tournament
42.7% of shots taken in Big 18 games are 3’s (#3 in country)
— Big East
Creighton 69, Seton Hall 68
Seton Hall led by 9 with 1:35 left in the game.
Pirates are 2-6 in last eight games, after a 14-2 start.
Bluejays snap three-game skid, are 7-6 in conference.
Marquette 70, Butler 55
Golden Eagles shot 14-31 on the arc.
Butler has won four in row, eight of last 11 games.
Marquette won its last three home games.
Bracketology has Big East getting three teams in NCAA Tournament
Big East teams are shooting only 71.5% on foul line in league games (#26 in country)
— Mountain West
UNLV 80, Grand Canyon 78
Rebels hung on and snapped four-game skid.
Gibbs-Lawhorn played all 40:00, scored 29 points.
Grand Canyon is 8-4 in their first year in Mountain West.
Utah State 85, Wyoming 83
Utah State shot 69.7% inside arc, scored 1.26 ppp
Utah State has #14 eFG% in the country.
Aggies have won five in row, are 11-2 in Mountain West.
Bracketology has Mountain West getting two teams in NCAA Tournament
Only ten MW games all season were decided by 4 or less points, or in OT.
— WCC
Gonzaga 81, Oregon State 61
Zags shot 63% inside arc, scored 1.46 ppp
Graham Ike scored 35 points, had 7 rebounds.
Beavers shot 10-18 on arc, only 36% inside arc.
Santa Clara 96, Washington State 92
Game was 49-49 at halftime.
Broncos have won eight in row, 12 of last 13 games.
Santa Clara shot 63.6% inside arc, scored 1.35 ppp.
Bracketology has WCC getting three teams in NCAA Tournament
Home teams have won 65.8% of WCC games, #3 in country.
— Atlantic 14
George Mason 60, Saint Joseph’s 52
St Joe’s led by 6 with 13:18 left in the game.
Hawks had 20 offensive rebounds, had 44-35 edge on boards.
Patriots are 9-2 in A-14, tied for second with VCU.
Saint Louis 82, La Salle 58
Billikens have won 17 in a row, are 11-0 in conference.
Saint Louis shot 13-30 on arc, shot 60.9% inside arc.
Saint Louis has a 61.1 eFG%, #2 in country.
Bracketology has A-14 as a one-bid league in NCAA Tournament
Home teams have won only 50.6% of A-14 games, #29 in country.
— Famous birthdays, February 8th
Nick Nolte, 85
Mary Steenburgen, 73
Marques Johnson, 70
Mary McCormack, 57
Alonzo Mourning, 56
Jamie Martin, 56
Susan Misner, 55
Julio Jones, 37
Klay Thompson, 36
Jared Triolo, 28
— MAC-Sun Belt challenge
Miami OH 90, Marshall 74
Miami led 41-17 late in first half.
RedHawks improved to 24-0 this season.
Miami is shooting 63% inside arc this year (#2 in country)
Southern Mississippi 66, Kent State 65
Kent State led by 9 with 6:59 left in the game.
Golden Flashes were only 8-18 on the foul line.
USM’s Isaac Taveras scored 16 points in 17:00 off the bench.
Sun Belt teams won 10 go the 13 games in this challenge Saturday.
Both of these leagues are one-bid leagues; the conference tournaments will be fun.
— Big X
TCU 84, Kansas State 82
K-State led by 10 with 5:26 left in the game.
TCU was 22-26 on foul line, Wildcats 5-8
Just third win in last nine games for the Horned Frogs.
Iowa State 72, Baylor 69
Iowa State shot 63.6% inside arc, had 37-25 edge on boards.
Cyclones have won five in a row, are 21-2, 8-2 in conference.
Three of Baylor’s five starters played all 40:00.
Bracketology has Big X getting 7 teams into the NCAA Tournament
Out of 31 leagues, Big X games have 6th-fastest tempo.
— Horizon
Wright State 73, Fort Wayne 68
Wright State shot 63.3% inside arc, had 39-24 edge on boards.
Raiders are 11-2 in last 13 games, after a 5-7 start.
Wright State leads Horizon by a game over Oakland.
Green Bay 76, Detroit 63
Green Bay never trailed, led by 18 early in second half.
Detroit shot only 31.4% inside the arc.
Green Bay is 14-12 this year; they were 4-28 last year.
Bracketology has Horizon as a one-bid league in NCAA Tournament
Horizon games have #3 eFG% in country; good offense/bad defense??
— Southern
East Tennessee State 87, VMI 70
Buccaneers shot 67.7% inside the arc.
ETSU has won three in row, 10 of last 12 games.
ETSU leads Wofforrd by a game, atop SoCon standings.
Citadel 78, Chattanooga 71
Citadel shot 69% inside the arc.
Citadel is 5-3 SU/6-2 ATS in their last eight games.
Chattanooga lost five of its last six games.
Bracketology has SoCon as a one-bid league in NCAA Tournament
43.9% of shots in So-Con games are 3’s, highest %age in country.
Tarik Skubal’s salary, the last six years:
2021— $574,000
2022— $714,000
2023— $744,000
2024— $2.65M
2025— $10.15M
2026— $32M
Quote of the Day
“Nothing is really fun unless it’s hard. Embrace the fact that it’s hard.”
Mike Leach
Thursday’s quiz
Who was QB for the Seahawks, the first time they played in a Super Bowl?
Saturday’s quiz
Sam Cunningham is the New England Patriots’ all-time leader in rushing yards.
Friday’s quiz
Joe Torre is the last player to ground into four double plays in one game; he did it in 1975, the only other guy to do it was in 1934.
***************************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a college basketball Saturday……
— ACCNorth Carolina 71, Duke 68
Tar Heels hit a 3-pointer with 0:00.4 left, their first lead of game.
Duke led 18-5 right out of the gate.
UNC has won five in a row, is 19-4, 7-3 in ACC.
Clemson 77, California 55
Clemson shot 12-26 on arc, improved to 10-1 in ACC
Cal is shooting only 45.3% inside arc in ACC play (#18 of 18)
Why are these teams in the same league? Seriously?
Bracketology has ACC getting eight teams in NCAA Tournament
42.1% of shots taken in ACC games are 3’s (#4 in country)
— SEC
Oklahoma 92, Vanderbilt 91
Sooners snap a nine-game losing streak.
Oklahoma led by 21 with 4:59 left, hung on for dear life.
Vandy is 3-4 in last seven games, after a 16-0 start.
Tyler Tanner scored 37 points, had nine assists for Vandy.
Alabama 96, Auburn 92
Auburn led by 10 late in first half.
Alabama shot 12-23 on the arc, scored 1.29 ppp.
SEC teams are shooting 39% on arc vs Auburn this year.
Bracketology has SEC getting ten teams in NCAA Tournament
SEC games are the 3rd-fastest of any league in country.
— Big 18
Indiana 78, Wisconsin 77 OT
Wisconsin was up by 4 with 0:57 left in regulation.
Hoosiers shot 61% inside the arc.
Indiana won four of last five games, is 7-6 in conference.
Michigan State 85, Illinois 82 OT
MSU’s Jeremy Fears scored 26 points, had 15 assists.
Loss snaps Illinois’ 12-game winning streak.
Spartans won eight of their last ten games.
Bracketology has Big 18 getting 11 teams in NCAA Tournament
42.7% of shots taken in Big 18 games are 3’s (#3 in country)
— Big East
Creighton 69, Seton Hall 68
Seton Hall led by 9 with 1:35 left in the game.
Pirates are 2-6 in last eight games, after a 14-2 start.
Bluejays snap three-game skid, are 7-6 in conference.
Marquette 70, Butler 55
Golden Eagles shot 14-31 on the arc.
Butler has won four in row, eight of last 11 games.
Marquette won its last three home games.
Bracketology has Big East getting three teams in NCAA Tournament
Big East teams are shooting only 71.5% on foul line in league games (#26 in country)
— Mountain West
UNLV 80, Grand Canyon 78
Rebels hung on and snapped four-game skid.
Gibbs-Lawhorn played all 40:00, scored 29 points.
Grand Canyon is 8-4 in their first year in Mountain West.
Utah State 85, Wyoming 83
Utah State shot 69.7% inside arc, scored 1.26 ppp
Utah State has #14 eFG% in the country.
Aggies have won five in row, are 11-2 in Mountain West.
Bracketology has Mountain West getting two teams in NCAA Tournament
Only ten MW games all season were decided by 4 or less points, or in OT.
— WCC
Gonzaga 81, Oregon State 61
Zags shot 63% inside arc, scored 1.46 ppp
Graham Ike scored 35 points, had 7 rebounds.
Beavers shot 10-18 on arc, only 36% inside arc.
Santa Clara 96, Washington State 92
Game was 49-49 at halftime.
Broncos have won eight in row, 12 of last 13 games.
Santa Clara shot 63.6% inside arc, scored 1.35 ppp.
Bracketology has WCC getting three teams in NCAA Tournament
Home teams have won 65.8% of WCC games, #3 in country.
— Atlantic 14
George Mason 60, Saint Joseph’s 52
St Joe’s led by 6 with 13:18 left in the game.
Hawks had 20 offensive rebounds, had 44-35 edge on boards.
Patriots are 9-2 in A-14, tied for second with VCU.
Saint Louis 82, La Salle 58
Billikens have won 17 in a row, are 11-0 in conference.
Saint Louis shot 13-30 on arc, shot 60.9% inside arc.
Saint Louis has a 61.1 eFG%, #2 in country.
Bracketology has A-14 as a one-bid league in NCAA Tournament
Home teams have won only 50.6% of A-14 games, #29 in country.
— Famous birthdays, February 8th
Nick Nolte, 85
Mary Steenburgen, 73
Marques Johnson, 70
Mary McCormack, 57
Alonzo Mourning, 56
Jamie Martin, 56
Susan Misner, 55
Julio Jones, 37
Klay Thompson, 36
Jared Triolo, 28
— MAC-Sun Belt challenge
Miami OH 90, Marshall 74
Miami led 41-17 late in first half.
RedHawks improved to 24-0 this season.
Miami is shooting 63% inside arc this year (#2 in country)
Southern Mississippi 66, Kent State 65
Kent State led by 9 with 6:59 left in the game.
Golden Flashes were only 8-18 on the foul line.
USM’s Isaac Taveras scored 16 points in 17:00 off the bench.
Sun Belt teams won 10 go the 13 games in this challenge Saturday.
Both of these leagues are one-bid leagues; the conference tournaments will be fun.
— Big X
TCU 84, Kansas State 82
K-State led by 10 with 5:26 left in the game.
TCU was 22-26 on foul line, Wildcats 5-8
Just third win in last nine games for the Horned Frogs.
Iowa State 72, Baylor 69
Iowa State shot 63.6% inside arc, had 37-25 edge on boards.
Cyclones have won five in a row, are 21-2, 8-2 in conference.
Three of Baylor’s five starters played all 40:00.
Bracketology has Big X getting 7 teams into the NCAA Tournament
Out of 31 leagues, Big X games have 6th-fastest tempo.
— Horizon
Wright State 73, Fort Wayne 68
Wright State shot 63.3% inside arc, had 39-24 edge on boards.
Raiders are 11-2 in last 13 games, after a 5-7 start.
Wright State leads Horizon by a game over Oakland.
Green Bay 76, Detroit 63
Green Bay never trailed, led by 18 early in second half.
Detroit shot only 31.4% inside the arc.
Green Bay is 14-12 this year; they were 4-28 last year.
Bracketology has Horizon as a one-bid league in NCAA Tournament
Horizon games have #3 eFG% in country; good offense/bad defense??
— Southern
East Tennessee State 87, VMI 70
Buccaneers shot 67.7% inside the arc.
ETSU has won three in row, 10 of last 12 games.
ETSU leads Wofforrd by a game, atop SoCon standings.
Citadel 78, Chattanooga 71
Citadel shot 69% inside the arc.
Citadel is 5-3 SU/6-2 ATS in their last eight games.
Chattanooga lost five of its last six games.
Bracketology has SoCon as a one-bid league in NCAA Tournament
43.9% of shots in So-Con games are 3’s, highest %age in country.
Monday’s 6-pack
Last six Super Bowl champs (QB):
2025— Seahawks (Darnold)
2024— Eagles (Hurts)
2023— Chiefs (Mahomes)
2022— Chiefs (Mahomes)
2021— Rams (Stafford)
2020— Buccaneers (Brady)
Quote of the Day
“The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
Benito Ocasio
Monday’s quiz
JJ McCarthy was the Vikings’ QB this year; Sam Darnold was their QB last year. Who was Minnesota’s QB in 2023?
Sunday’s quiz
Matt Hasselbeck was QB for the Seahawks, the first time they played in a Super Bowl.
Saturday’s quiz
Sam Cunningham is the New England Patriots’ all-time leader in rushing yards.
*****************************************
Seattle wins their second Lombardi Trophy.
Kenneth Walker carried ball 27 times for 135 yards.
Jason Myers kicked five FG’s, outscored New England by himself.
Seahawks were +3 in turnovers, scored a defensive TD.
Patriots’ first nine drives: 38 plays, 79 yards, zero points.
Seattle’s first six drives: 42 plays, 183 yards, three FG’s.
Seahawks sacked Drake Maye six times, for 43 yards.
NE was first team since 1974 not to score in first 3 quarters of a Super Bowl
— Weird stat: last ten times New England was in the Super Bowl, they were outscored 27-3 in the first quarter of those games.
— Prop bet update: national anthem was done in 1:57, the under hits.
— I’m oblivious about certain things, and I had never watched the halftime show of any Super Bowl before. Before this week, I’d never heard of Bad Bunny, so I looked him up.
Real name: Benito Ocasio; he is 32 years old
For a while couple years ago, he was a pro wrestler.
He has helped make rap music more popular, world-wide.
During the halftime show, they had a couple on stage getting married, looked like it was part of the act, but apparently, that was an actual marriage ceremony that happened during halftime.
— Thursday night in Week 1 this coming September, Seahawks will be the home team.
— Jim Schwartz was defensive coordinator for the Browns this year; he interviewed for the head coach’s job in Cleveland when it opened, and when he didn’t get it, he bolted, even though he has two years left on his contract.
— Former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was quickly hired by the Atlanta Falcons, who were 5-3 with Kirk Cousins starting this year, 3-6 when he didn’t start, but rumor has it that the Falcons are going to cut him this spring. If he gets cut, he won’t be on the market very long.
— Famous birthdays, February 9th:
Joe Pesci, 83
Jim Nash, 81
Vince Papale, 80
Judith Light, 77
Danny White, 74
Mookie Wilson, 70
John Kruk, 65
Todd Lyght, 57
Vladimir Guerrero Sr, 51
Michael B Jordan, 39
Saquon Barkley, 29
Cobie Durant, 28
— Joe Pompliano posted the following info:
The average TV ad for the Super Bowl was $8M
5-10 ads sold for as much as $10M
For 40% of advertisers, this was their first Super Bowl ads.
NBC requires brands to match the $$$ they spend on Super Bowl on other events too
All in all, NBC was expected to rake in $800M in advertising revenue.
— USC 77, Penn State 75
Freshman G Arenas scored the game-winning hoop with 0:00.7 left.
Penn State shot 60% inside arc, led by 12 early in second half.
Trojans have won three in row, prove to 18-6, 7-6 in conference.
USC. Penn State. Why the bleep are these teams in the same league?!?!?!
— Coastal Carolina 94, UMass 91, 3OT’s
UMass led by 14 with 14:39 left in regulation.
Chanticleers shot 16-34 on the arc, only 8-16 on foul line.
K’Jei Parker scored 31 points in 34:00 for UMass; he didn’t start.
— Texas Tech 70, West Virginia 63
Red Raiders never trailed, shot 13-24 on the arc.
Tech only used two subs, who played 12-3 minutes.
West Virginia shot 66.7% inside arc, 2-22 outside arc.
Tech improves to 17-6, 7-3 in Big X
— South Florida basketball coach Bryan Hodgson used to be an assistant coach at Fredonia State in western New York. I was the student manager of our basketball team in college; we played at Fredonia once, it is a long freakin’ way from Albany, about an hour west of Buffalo.
Very cold there; the young lady who sang the national anthem was very good, that’s all I can remember from that night, 45 or so years ago. Other than thinking, why would anyone want to live here for four years? It was like ten miles past the middle of nowhere.
But coach Hodgson became an assistant to Nate Oats at Buffalo, and moved up the ladder from there. He was 45-28 in two years at Arkansas State and this year his USF Bulls are 16-8, 8-3 in the AAC, so Hodgson is apparently a very good coach.
— North Dakota State is moving up to I-A football and will play in the Mountain West, starting this fall; the move is going to cost the school $17M. Bison have been D-I in basketball for couple decades, but this is a big jump for them.
— NBC is going back to broadcasting baseball this year; Clayton Kershaw, Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo are going to be their studio analysts.
— Pitchers and catchers report on Tuesday; let’s play ball!!!!
Last six Super Bowl champs (QB):
2025— Seahawks (Darnold)
2024— Eagles (Hurts)
2023— Chiefs (Mahomes)
2022— Chiefs (Mahomes)
2021— Rams (Stafford)
2020— Buccaneers (Brady)
Quote of the Day
“The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
Benito Ocasio
Monday’s quiz
JJ McCarthy was the Vikings’ QB this year; Sam Darnold was their QB last year. Who was Minnesota’s QB in 2023?
Sunday’s quiz
Matt Hasselbeck was QB for the Seahawks, the first time they played in a Super Bowl.
Saturday’s quiz
Sam Cunningham is the New England Patriots’ all-time leader in rushing yards.
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Monday’s Den: Wrapping up Super Bowl Sunday……
— Seahawks 29, Patriots 13Seattle wins their second Lombardi Trophy.
Kenneth Walker carried ball 27 times for 135 yards.
Jason Myers kicked five FG’s, outscored New England by himself.
Seahawks were +3 in turnovers, scored a defensive TD.
Patriots’ first nine drives: 38 plays, 79 yards, zero points.
Seattle’s first six drives: 42 plays, 183 yards, three FG’s.
Seahawks sacked Drake Maye six times, for 43 yards.
NE was first team since 1974 not to score in first 3 quarters of a Super Bowl
— Weird stat: last ten times New England was in the Super Bowl, they were outscored 27-3 in the first quarter of those games.
— Prop bet update: national anthem was done in 1:57, the under hits.
— I’m oblivious about certain things, and I had never watched the halftime show of any Super Bowl before. Before this week, I’d never heard of Bad Bunny, so I looked him up.
Real name: Benito Ocasio; he is 32 years old
For a while couple years ago, he was a pro wrestler.
He has helped make rap music more popular, world-wide.
During the halftime show, they had a couple on stage getting married, looked like it was part of the act, but apparently, that was an actual marriage ceremony that happened during halftime.
— Thursday night in Week 1 this coming September, Seahawks will be the home team.
— Jim Schwartz was defensive coordinator for the Browns this year; he interviewed for the head coach’s job in Cleveland when it opened, and when he didn’t get it, he bolted, even though he has two years left on his contract.
— Former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was quickly hired by the Atlanta Falcons, who were 5-3 with Kirk Cousins starting this year, 3-6 when he didn’t start, but rumor has it that the Falcons are going to cut him this spring. If he gets cut, he won’t be on the market very long.
— Famous birthdays, February 9th:
Joe Pesci, 83
Jim Nash, 81
Vince Papale, 80
Judith Light, 77
Danny White, 74
Mookie Wilson, 70
John Kruk, 65
Todd Lyght, 57
Vladimir Guerrero Sr, 51
Michael B Jordan, 39
Saquon Barkley, 29
Cobie Durant, 28
— Joe Pompliano posted the following info:
The average TV ad for the Super Bowl was $8M
5-10 ads sold for as much as $10M
For 40% of advertisers, this was their first Super Bowl ads.
NBC requires brands to match the $$$ they spend on Super Bowl on other events too
All in all, NBC was expected to rake in $800M in advertising revenue.
— USC 77, Penn State 75
Freshman G Arenas scored the game-winning hoop with 0:00.7 left.
Penn State shot 60% inside arc, led by 12 early in second half.
Trojans have won three in row, prove to 18-6, 7-6 in conference.
USC. Penn State. Why the bleep are these teams in the same league?!?!?!
— Coastal Carolina 94, UMass 91, 3OT’s
UMass led by 14 with 14:39 left in regulation.
Chanticleers shot 16-34 on the arc, only 8-16 on foul line.
K’Jei Parker scored 31 points in 34:00 for UMass; he didn’t start.
— Texas Tech 70, West Virginia 63
Red Raiders never trailed, shot 13-24 on the arc.
Tech only used two subs, who played 12-3 minutes.
West Virginia shot 66.7% inside arc, 2-22 outside arc.
Tech improves to 17-6, 7-3 in Big X
— South Florida basketball coach Bryan Hodgson used to be an assistant coach at Fredonia State in western New York. I was the student manager of our basketball team in college; we played at Fredonia once, it is a long freakin’ way from Albany, about an hour west of Buffalo.
Very cold there; the young lady who sang the national anthem was very good, that’s all I can remember from that night, 45 or so years ago. Other than thinking, why would anyone want to live here for four years? It was like ten miles past the middle of nowhere.
But coach Hodgson became an assistant to Nate Oats at Buffalo, and moved up the ladder from there. He was 45-28 in two years at Arkansas State and this year his USF Bulls are 16-8, 8-3 in the AAC, so Hodgson is apparently a very good coach.
— North Dakota State is moving up to I-A football and will play in the Mountain West, starting this fall; the move is going to cost the school $17M. Bison have been D-I in basketball for couple decades, but this is a big jump for them.
— NBC is going back to broadcasting baseball this year; Clayton Kershaw, Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo are going to be their studio analysts.
— Pitchers and catchers report on Tuesday; let’s play ball!!!!
Monday’s 6-pack
Teams who get the highest %age of their points on foul shots:
— Dayton (16-9)
— Tulane (15-10)
— Sacramento State (9-16)
— Nevada (17-8)
— Oregon State (14-14)
— Cal-Bakersfield (8-18)
Quote of the Day
“These dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform. There will be very few of them in it next year. I’m embarrassed for the university, I’m embarrassed for our fans, our student section. It is ridiculous … I have no answer. No words.”
Jerome Tang; this rant helped get him fired this weekend
Monday’s quiz
Who led the major leagues in hits last season?
Sunday’s quiz
New York Nets won two of the last three ABA titles; Kevin Loughery was their coach.
Saturday’s quiz
Pat Boone is the singer/actor who was part owner of the ABA’s Oakland Oaks.
*****************************************************
Woke up Sunday morning to a text saying that the CBS website that hosts our league eliminated all the rosters; 30 players on 14 teams went bye-bye. For the next six or seven hours, I managed to get 378 of those 420 players back on the correct team, but there is still work to do.
Not the best way to start the day.
— NBA star Cade Cunningham will make $52M a year for the next four years; that $1M a week, if you’re scoring at home, and he’s only 24 years old.
Cade Cunningham is from Arlington, TX; couple weeks ago, he bought a minority ownership stake in the Texas Rangers. He threw out a first pitch before a Rangers home game last summer.
Cunningham is among the athlete investors in Sportsology Capital Partners, which recently completed the minority investment in the Rangers. Must be pretty cool to be 24 years old and be a part-owner of a major league team.
— Friend of mine’s son plays baseball for Mississippi State; was watching their game on TV Friday- they had a crowd of 12,824 for Opening Night in Starkville.
— This winter, players went 8-4 against the owners in arbitration cases; since abritration started in 1974, owners have a 362-278 advantage in arbitration.
— P Zac Gallen agreed to a one-year, $22M contract to stay with the Arizona Diamondbacks; $14M of that money is deferred; Gallen had a rough season last year, going 13-15, 4.83, but he was 6-3, 3.00 in 11 August/September starts.
— San Diego Padres signed OF/DH Nick Castellanos and P Griffin Canning. Castellanos might platoon at first base with Gavin Sheets; he hit .250 with a .694 OPS for the Phillies last year. Canning was 1-3, 3.77 in 16 starts for the Mets last year.
— Blue Jays/Astros traded outfielders; Toronto acquired Jesús Sánchez, dealt Joey Loperfido back to Houston.
Sanchez hit .237 with 14 homers for the Marlins/Astros last year; his career OPS is .727.
Astros traded Loperfido to Toronto during the ’24 season; he hit .333 in 41 games for the Blue Jays last year.
— Famous birthdays, February 16th:
Tim Cullen, 84
Glenn Abbott, 75
Tracy Marrow, 68 (Ice-T)
Kelly Tripucka, 67
Craig Neal, 62
Jerome Bettis, 54
Tommy Milone, 39
— Prime Video has an interesting four-hour program on the history of the ABA; the basketball parts of it are tremendous, lot of excellent history. The ABA lasted nine years, changed the way a lot of us watched basketball.
— Kevin Loughery played 11 years in the NBA, for three different teams; he scored 15.3 in his career, pretty good player. Then he became a coach. He won two ABA titles with the Nets, with Julius Erving as their star, but things went south after the Nets traded Erving to the 76ers with the Nets having $$$ problems.
Loughery then coached the Atlanta Hawks for two years, including Dominique Wilkins’ rookie season. From there he coached the Chicago Bulls, where he coached Michael Jordan when he was a rookie.
Pretty interesting career; he coached Dr J, Dominique Wilkins and Michael Jordan, and got fired in all three places. He was replaced in Chicago by Stan Albeck, who was fired after one year, replaced by Doug Collins. Phil Jackson didn’t become Chicago’s coach until Jordan’s sixth season in the NBA.
— Nevada Wolf Pack lost to San Diego State Saturday night; they are now 0-14 at Viejas Arena.
— BYU retired Jimmer Fredette’s number 32 over the weekend; he was Player of the Year during the 2010-11 college season, was the 10th pick in the first round of the 2011 Draft. Fredette grew up in Glens Falls, NY, an hour north of where I live. He was a hell of a scorer.
— Kansas State fired basketball coach Jerome Tang; Wildcats are 10-15 this year, 1-11 in the Big X, after going 18-32 in conference games the last three years. Tang led K-State to the Elite 8 in his first season coaching the Wildcats.
K-State will try to fire Tang for cause. Tang has a buyout of more than $18M, per the terms of his contract, but Taylor believes Tang’s recent public criticisms of the players and the response a press conference spurred in the national media violated the terms of his contract.
— Caden Pierce, the 2024 Ivy League Player of the Year, will transfer to Purdue and play for the Boilermakers next season. Pierce is sitting out this season to finish his degree at Princeton; he is a 6-7 forward whose brother is a receiver for the Indianapolis Colts.
Pierce was hobbled by an ankle injury last year, but still scored 11 ppg, grabbed seven rebounds a game. He scored 16.6 ppg, grabbed 9.2 rebounds/game two years ago.
— Bracketology gives us the top 16 seeds, as of Sunday:
#1 seeds- Michigan, UConn, Duke, Arizona
#2 seeds- Iowa State, Houston, Illinois, Purdue
#3 seeds- Florida, Nebraska, Kansas, Gonzaga
#4 seeds- Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Michigan State
Teams who get the highest %age of their points on foul shots:
— Dayton (16-9)
— Tulane (15-10)
— Sacramento State (9-16)
— Nevada (17-8)
— Oregon State (14-14)
— Cal-Bakersfield (8-18)
Quote of the Day
“These dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform. There will be very few of them in it next year. I’m embarrassed for the university, I’m embarrassed for our fans, our student section. It is ridiculous … I have no answer. No words.”
Jerome Tang; this rant helped get him fired this weekend
Monday’s quiz
Who led the major leagues in hits last season?
Sunday’s quiz
New York Nets won two of the last three ABA titles; Kevin Loughery was their coach.
Saturday’s quiz
Pat Boone is the singer/actor who was part owner of the ABA’s Oakland Oaks.
*****************************************************
Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports weekend…….
— This will be the 22nd year of the fantasy baseball league I’m in; it is a keeper league, you have mostly the same roster every year.Woke up Sunday morning to a text saying that the CBS website that hosts our league eliminated all the rosters; 30 players on 14 teams went bye-bye. For the next six or seven hours, I managed to get 378 of those 420 players back on the correct team, but there is still work to do.
Not the best way to start the day.
— NBA star Cade Cunningham will make $52M a year for the next four years; that $1M a week, if you’re scoring at home, and he’s only 24 years old.
Cade Cunningham is from Arlington, TX; couple weeks ago, he bought a minority ownership stake in the Texas Rangers. He threw out a first pitch before a Rangers home game last summer.
Cunningham is among the athlete investors in Sportsology Capital Partners, which recently completed the minority investment in the Rangers. Must be pretty cool to be 24 years old and be a part-owner of a major league team.
— Friend of mine’s son plays baseball for Mississippi State; was watching their game on TV Friday- they had a crowd of 12,824 for Opening Night in Starkville.
— This winter, players went 8-4 against the owners in arbitration cases; since abritration started in 1974, owners have a 362-278 advantage in arbitration.
— P Zac Gallen agreed to a one-year, $22M contract to stay with the Arizona Diamondbacks; $14M of that money is deferred; Gallen had a rough season last year, going 13-15, 4.83, but he was 6-3, 3.00 in 11 August/September starts.
— San Diego Padres signed OF/DH Nick Castellanos and P Griffin Canning. Castellanos might platoon at first base with Gavin Sheets; he hit .250 with a .694 OPS for the Phillies last year. Canning was 1-3, 3.77 in 16 starts for the Mets last year.
— Blue Jays/Astros traded outfielders; Toronto acquired Jesús Sánchez, dealt Joey Loperfido back to Houston.
Sanchez hit .237 with 14 homers for the Marlins/Astros last year; his career OPS is .727.
Astros traded Loperfido to Toronto during the ’24 season; he hit .333 in 41 games for the Blue Jays last year.
— Famous birthdays, February 16th:
Tim Cullen, 84
Glenn Abbott, 75
Tracy Marrow, 68 (Ice-T)
Kelly Tripucka, 67
Craig Neal, 62
Jerome Bettis, 54
Tommy Milone, 39
— Prime Video has an interesting four-hour program on the history of the ABA; the basketball parts of it are tremendous, lot of excellent history. The ABA lasted nine years, changed the way a lot of us watched basketball.
— Kevin Loughery played 11 years in the NBA, for three different teams; he scored 15.3 in his career, pretty good player. Then he became a coach. He won two ABA titles with the Nets, with Julius Erving as their star, but things went south after the Nets traded Erving to the 76ers with the Nets having $$$ problems.
Loughery then coached the Atlanta Hawks for two years, including Dominique Wilkins’ rookie season. From there he coached the Chicago Bulls, where he coached Michael Jordan when he was a rookie.
Pretty interesting career; he coached Dr J, Dominique Wilkins and Michael Jordan, and got fired in all three places. He was replaced in Chicago by Stan Albeck, who was fired after one year, replaced by Doug Collins. Phil Jackson didn’t become Chicago’s coach until Jordan’s sixth season in the NBA.
— Nevada Wolf Pack lost to San Diego State Saturday night; they are now 0-14 at Viejas Arena.
— BYU retired Jimmer Fredette’s number 32 over the weekend; he was Player of the Year during the 2010-11 college season, was the 10th pick in the first round of the 2011 Draft. Fredette grew up in Glens Falls, NY, an hour north of where I live. He was a hell of a scorer.
— Kansas State fired basketball coach Jerome Tang; Wildcats are 10-15 this year, 1-11 in the Big X, after going 18-32 in conference games the last three years. Tang led K-State to the Elite 8 in his first season coaching the Wildcats.
K-State will try to fire Tang for cause. Tang has a buyout of more than $18M, per the terms of his contract, but Taylor believes Tang’s recent public criticisms of the players and the response a press conference spurred in the national media violated the terms of his contract.
— Caden Pierce, the 2024 Ivy League Player of the Year, will transfer to Purdue and play for the Boilermakers next season. Pierce is sitting out this season to finish his degree at Princeton; he is a 6-7 forward whose brother is a receiver for the Indianapolis Colts.
Pierce was hobbled by an ankle injury last year, but still scored 11 ppg, grabbed seven rebounds a game. He scored 16.6 ppg, grabbed 9.2 rebounds/game two years ago.
— Bracketology gives us the top 16 seeds, as of Sunday:
#1 seeds- Michigan, UConn, Duke, Arizona
#2 seeds- Iowa State, Houston, Illinois, Purdue
#3 seeds- Florida, Nebraska, Kansas, Gonzaga
#4 seeds- Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Michigan State
Tuesday’s 6-pack
How much $$$ Nevada sports books banked on last six Super Bowls:
2026— $9,892,055
2025— $22,134,104
2024— $11,182,973
2023— $4,361,646
2022— $11,063,412
2021— $12,574,125
Quote of the Day
“We haven’t won. I really want to win. Each year that goes by, I get a little more annoyed.”
Mets’ owner Steve Cohen
Tuesday’s quiz
Which major league team used to be owned by the same guy who owned the McDonald’s fast food franchise?
Monday’s quiz
Bobby Witt Jr led the major leagues in hits last season.
Sunday’s quiz
New York Nets won two of the last three ABA titles; Kevin Loughery was their coach.
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Just a great career. RIP, sir.
— Memo to ESPN: Your Monday night college basketball schedules suck; Syracuse isn’t good anymore, stop putting them in stand alone games.
Back in the day, ESPN had Big Mondays, which were good
7:30- Big East game
9:30- Big 10 game
midnight- Big West game
The smaller leagues out west would be good with a national TV game on Mondays.
— Big West conference tournament will be fun to watch; they are the 11th-ranked league right now, their highest rank in the last 30 years.
Here are the last few tourney champs:
2025- Cal-San Diego
2024- Long Beach State
2023- Cal-Santa Barbara
2022- Cal State-Fullerton
2021- Cal-Santa Barbara
2019- Cal-Irvine
2018- Cal State-Fullerton
2017- Cal-Davis
2016- Hawaii
Last nine tournaments, seven different champs. Competitive league.
— Michigan Wolverines’ basketball team has six student managers, guys who help out the team by doing lot of the little things that make life easier for coaches/players.
Back in the day, I was a student manager in college, but I was our team’s only manager, being a Division III team. Big-time coaches who were student managers:
Will Wade, NC State
Mark Daigneault, Thunder
Frank Vogel, head coach of four NBA teams
Buzz Williams, Maryland
— World Series of Poker will be in Las Vegas, from May 26-July 15; I went to this once, watched people play cards for about a half hour, then realized it isn’t that much fun to watch if you can’t see their hole cards, and watch the decisions they’re making.
Picture a big gym jammed with card tables; the only sound is chips clicking together, unless one of the players goes all-in on a hand, then they called a hand-held camera over to film the hand.
— Dodgers’ utility guy Tommy Edman (ankle) will start the season on the IL; he’s played for the Dodgers for two years, and they won the World Series both years.
— San Diego Padres signed GM AJ Preller to a multi-year contract extension; Padres made the playoffs four of the last six years. Preller has run the San Diego organization since late 2014; this year Craig Stammen will the Padres’ 6th full-time manager in 12 years, which seems like a lot for a team that has been winning.
— Famous birthdays, February 17th:
Dick Bosman, 82
Jamie Easterly, 73
Rene Russo, 72
Neil Lomax, 67
Lou Diamond Phillips, 64
Michael Jordan, 63
Jerry O’Connell, 52
Kelly Carlson, 50
Case Keenum, 38
Sony Michel, 31
— NBA All-Star Game was good to watch; the players actually tried. Not sure if the new format helped, or the fact that President Obama was sitting in the front row, but when players who are that good are competitive, it is fun to watch.
— Baseball needs to market itself better; MLB Network should host a 12-team fantasy league, with celebrities/former players the team managers, and the league could have a weekly show, featuring a different celebrity every week.
The show where they draft the team would be great TV.
How much $$$ Nevada sports books banked on last six Super Bowls:
2026— $9,892,055
2025— $22,134,104
2024— $11,182,973
2023— $4,361,646
2022— $11,063,412
2021— $12,574,125
Quote of the Day
“We haven’t won. I really want to win. Each year that goes by, I get a little more annoyed.”
Mets’ owner Steve Cohen
Tuesday’s quiz
Which major league team used to be owned by the same guy who owned the McDonald’s fast food franchise?
Monday’s quiz
Bobby Witt Jr led the major leagues in hits last season.
Sunday’s quiz
New York Nets won two of the last three ABA titles; Kevin Loughery was their coach.
*******************************************
Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but…….
— We lost one of our greatest actors Monday; Robert Duvall, who has 388 acting credits on IMDB, passed away at age 95. What an epic career he had, from the sportswriter in The Natural, to Frank Burns in M*A*S*H (the movie), the race car pit boss in Days of Thunder, a musician in Tender Mercies, and the father of a great poker player in Lucky You.Just a great career. RIP, sir.
— Memo to ESPN: Your Monday night college basketball schedules suck; Syracuse isn’t good anymore, stop putting them in stand alone games.
Back in the day, ESPN had Big Mondays, which were good
7:30- Big East game
9:30- Big 10 game
midnight- Big West game
The smaller leagues out west would be good with a national TV game on Mondays.
— Big West conference tournament will be fun to watch; they are the 11th-ranked league right now, their highest rank in the last 30 years.
Here are the last few tourney champs:
2025- Cal-San Diego
2024- Long Beach State
2023- Cal-Santa Barbara
2022- Cal State-Fullerton
2021- Cal-Santa Barbara
2019- Cal-Irvine
2018- Cal State-Fullerton
2017- Cal-Davis
2016- Hawaii
Last nine tournaments, seven different champs. Competitive league.
— Michigan Wolverines’ basketball team has six student managers, guys who help out the team by doing lot of the little things that make life easier for coaches/players.
Back in the day, I was a student manager in college, but I was our team’s only manager, being a Division III team. Big-time coaches who were student managers:
Will Wade, NC State
Mark Daigneault, Thunder
Frank Vogel, head coach of four NBA teams
Buzz Williams, Maryland
— World Series of Poker will be in Las Vegas, from May 26-July 15; I went to this once, watched people play cards for about a half hour, then realized it isn’t that much fun to watch if you can’t see their hole cards, and watch the decisions they’re making.
Picture a big gym jammed with card tables; the only sound is chips clicking together, unless one of the players goes all-in on a hand, then they called a hand-held camera over to film the hand.
— Dodgers’ utility guy Tommy Edman (ankle) will start the season on the IL; he’s played for the Dodgers for two years, and they won the World Series both years.
— San Diego Padres signed GM AJ Preller to a multi-year contract extension; Padres made the playoffs four of the last six years. Preller has run the San Diego organization since late 2014; this year Craig Stammen will the Padres’ 6th full-time manager in 12 years, which seems like a lot for a team that has been winning.
— Famous birthdays, February 17th:
Dick Bosman, 82
Jamie Easterly, 73
Rene Russo, 72
Neil Lomax, 67
Lou Diamond Phillips, 64
Michael Jordan, 63
Jerry O’Connell, 52
Kelly Carlson, 50
Case Keenum, 38
Sony Michel, 31
— NBA All-Star Game was good to watch; the players actually tried. Not sure if the new format helped, or the fact that President Obama was sitting in the front row, but when players who are that good are competitive, it is fun to watch.
— Baseball needs to market itself better; MLB Network should host a 12-team fantasy league, with celebrities/former players the team managers, and the league could have a weekly show, featuring a different celebrity every week.
The show where they draft the team would be great TV.
Wednesday’s 6-pack
Teams getting highest %age of their points on 2-point shots;
62%— Southern Illinois (12-15)
61.1%— Gonzaga (25-2)
60.7%— Texas State (17-11)
58.9%— Rider (3-22)
58.4%— Miami FL (21-5)
58.4%— Arizona (23-2)
Quote of the Day
“I did not come to Kansas State to be the head coach. Coach Tang and I are thicker than thieves. He is an amazing human being. He did amazing things at Kansas State.”
Kansas State interim coach Matthew Driscoll, who won his first game Tuesday
Wednesday’s quiz
In the movie The Natural, what uniform number did Robert Redford’s character wear for the New York Knights?
Tuesday’s quiz
San Diego Padres used to be owned by Ray Kroc, the same guy who owned the McDonald’s fast food franchise.
Monday’s quiz
Bobby Witt Jr led the major leagues in hits last season.
****************************************
Michigan shot 13-23 on the arc, scored 1.31 ppp
Wolverines led 48-28 late in the first half.
Michigan has won eleven games in a row.
— NC State 82, North Carolina 58
Tar Heels played without their top two scorers.
Wolfpack shot 9-20 on the arc, Carolina 5-33.
This was State’s biggest win over UNC since 1962.
— Michigan State 82, UCLA 59
UCLA has lost consecutive games by 20+ points for first time since 1945.
Spartans shot 14-27 on arc, led 43-23 at halftime.
Bruins are 1-5 SU outside of the Pacific time zone this season
— Villanova 92, Xavier 89 OT
Villanova was +10 (6-16) in turnovers.
Wildcats have won six in a row, are 12-3 in Big East.
Xavier lost 6 of last 8 games; their last two losses were in OT.
— Iowa 57, Nebraska 52
Nebraska is 2-4 in last six games, after a 20-0 start.
Cornhuskers only played seven guys the whole game.
Hawkeyes had 37-24 edge on the boards.
— Miami OH 86, UMass 77
Redhawks improve to 26-0, country’s only unbeaten team.
Miami was 24-33 on foul line, Minutemen 9-16
In its MAC games, Miami is shooting 63.9% inside the arc.
— Upsets of the Night:
Rhode Island (+11.5) 81, Saint Louis 76
San Jose State (+10.5) 87, Nevada 71
Northern Illinois (+8.5) 72, Buffalo 70
Grand Canyon (+7.5) 73, San Diego State 63
Georgia (+7.5) 86, Kentucky 78
Arizona State (+7.5) 72, Texas Tech 67
Kansas State (+4.5) 90, Baylor 74
This has been a rough week, with Robert Duvall dying and now this……
— Dwight (Bo) Lamar, who scored 3,493 points at Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette) before the 3-point shot was a thing, passed away this week at age 74. Lamar was a first team All-American in 1972 and 1973.
Only Pete Maravich (3,667) and Antone Davis (3,664) scored more points in Division I.
Lamar then played three years in the ABA, scoring 19.7 ppg and one year with the Lakers; too bad he played before ESPN existed. Would have been fun to watch him play. RIP.
— Doug Moe, who played at North Carolina and in the ABA, then later had a very good coaching career, passed away at age 87.
Moe went 628-529 over 15 seasons as a head coach; he was the NBA Coach of the Year in 1988, three years after his best Nuggets team lost in the Western Conference finals to the Lakers. His Nuggets led the NBA in scoring over five straight years in the early ’80s, and he rarely ran a set play, instead stressing movement and a lot of passing.
Moe was from Brooklyn; he was irreverent, kind of a character in a good-natured way. When he was playing in the early 60’s, afraid of flying, Moe would read books to distract himself from the ongoing flight.
On one flight, with North Carolina’s team, there was a famous passenger on the flight (Richard Nixon) who went to the back of the plane to talk to the players. Nixon saw Moe reading the book and said to him “You must be the student in the group”
Moe didn’t know it was Richard Nixon talking to him; he looked up at hm and replied “What are you, a wise guy?”
Doug Moe was a really good coach and a unique personality. RIP, coach.
— Famous birthdays, February 18th:
Cybill Shepherd, 76
John Travolta, 72
Gary Reasons, 64
Chuck Long, 63
Molly Ringwald, 58
Le’Veon Bell, 34
Isaac Paredes, 27
Jordan Westburg, 27
— P Walker Buehler signed a free agent deal with San Diego; he pitched for the Phillies/Red Sox last year, after pitching eight years for the Dodgers. In his career, Buehler is 57-29, 3.52 in 146 career starts, 4-4, 3.04 in 18 playoff starts.
— Twins P Pablo López has a “significant tear” in the UCL in his pitching arm, and is expected to need Tommy John surgery. He was 5-4, 2.74 in 14 starts LY, is 59-53, 3.81 in 172 career starts.
— A reminder about the NBA Draft: Stephen Curry was the 7th player taken in the 2009 NBA Draft, being luminaries like Hasheem Thabeet and Jonny Flynn.
Shea Gilgeous-Alexander was the 11th pick in the 2018, taken behind Mo Bamba, Kevin Knox and Marvin Bagley.
Much like the NFL Draft, smarter NBA teams gain an advantage thru the draft.
— Hannah Storm has been on TV for 40+ years now; these days, she works on ESPN.
Back in the day, her father was Mike Storen, who once ran the Atlanta Hawks, two ABA teams and was also commissioner of the ABA for a while. He was the first general manager of the Indiana Pacers, who were originally an ABA team.
— Miami Dolphins are cutting their payroll; they’re now $13M under the salary cap after letting WR Tyreek Hill go, and releasing DE Bradley Chubb, WR Nick Westbrook-Ihkine and OL James Daniels.
Last week the Dolphins admitted that QB Tua Tagovailoa’s future in Miami is undecided, and Miami has publicly let it be known that Tagovailoa, who is due $54M in 2026, is available via trade. If they can’t trade him, his contract will greatly hamper their salary cap situation.
Teams getting highest %age of their points on 2-point shots;
62%— Southern Illinois (12-15)
61.1%— Gonzaga (25-2)
60.7%— Texas State (17-11)
58.9%— Rider (3-22)
58.4%— Miami FL (21-5)
58.4%— Arizona (23-2)
Quote of the Day
“I did not come to Kansas State to be the head coach. Coach Tang and I are thicker than thieves. He is an amazing human being. He did amazing things at Kansas State.”
Kansas State interim coach Matthew Driscoll, who won his first game Tuesday
Wednesday’s quiz
In the movie The Natural, what uniform number did Robert Redford’s character wear for the New York Knights?
Tuesday’s quiz
San Diego Padres used to be owned by Ray Kroc, the same guy who owned the McDonald’s fast food franchise.
Monday’s quiz
Bobby Witt Jr led the major leagues in hits last season.
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Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….
— Michigan 91, Purdue 80Michigan shot 13-23 on the arc, scored 1.31 ppp
Wolverines led 48-28 late in the first half.
Michigan has won eleven games in a row.
— NC State 82, North Carolina 58
Tar Heels played without their top two scorers.
Wolfpack shot 9-20 on the arc, Carolina 5-33.
This was State’s biggest win over UNC since 1962.
— Michigan State 82, UCLA 59
UCLA has lost consecutive games by 20+ points for first time since 1945.
Spartans shot 14-27 on arc, led 43-23 at halftime.
Bruins are 1-5 SU outside of the Pacific time zone this season
— Villanova 92, Xavier 89 OT
Villanova was +10 (6-16) in turnovers.
Wildcats have won six in a row, are 12-3 in Big East.
Xavier lost 6 of last 8 games; their last two losses were in OT.
— Iowa 57, Nebraska 52
Nebraska is 2-4 in last six games, after a 20-0 start.
Cornhuskers only played seven guys the whole game.
Hawkeyes had 37-24 edge on the boards.
— Miami OH 86, UMass 77
Redhawks improve to 26-0, country’s only unbeaten team.
Miami was 24-33 on foul line, Minutemen 9-16
In its MAC games, Miami is shooting 63.9% inside the arc.
— Upsets of the Night:
Rhode Island (+11.5) 81, Saint Louis 76
San Jose State (+10.5) 87, Nevada 71
Northern Illinois (+8.5) 72, Buffalo 70
Grand Canyon (+7.5) 73, San Diego State 63
Georgia (+7.5) 86, Kentucky 78
Arizona State (+7.5) 72, Texas Tech 67
Kansas State (+4.5) 90, Baylor 74
This has been a rough week, with Robert Duvall dying and now this……
— Dwight (Bo) Lamar, who scored 3,493 points at Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette) before the 3-point shot was a thing, passed away this week at age 74. Lamar was a first team All-American in 1972 and 1973.
Only Pete Maravich (3,667) and Antone Davis (3,664) scored more points in Division I.
Lamar then played three years in the ABA, scoring 19.7 ppg and one year with the Lakers; too bad he played before ESPN existed. Would have been fun to watch him play. RIP.
— Doug Moe, who played at North Carolina and in the ABA, then later had a very good coaching career, passed away at age 87.
Moe went 628-529 over 15 seasons as a head coach; he was the NBA Coach of the Year in 1988, three years after his best Nuggets team lost in the Western Conference finals to the Lakers. His Nuggets led the NBA in scoring over five straight years in the early ’80s, and he rarely ran a set play, instead stressing movement and a lot of passing.
Moe was from Brooklyn; he was irreverent, kind of a character in a good-natured way. When he was playing in the early 60’s, afraid of flying, Moe would read books to distract himself from the ongoing flight.
On one flight, with North Carolina’s team, there was a famous passenger on the flight (Richard Nixon) who went to the back of the plane to talk to the players. Nixon saw Moe reading the book and said to him “You must be the student in the group”
Moe didn’t know it was Richard Nixon talking to him; he looked up at hm and replied “What are you, a wise guy?”
Doug Moe was a really good coach and a unique personality. RIP, coach.
— Famous birthdays, February 18th:
Cybill Shepherd, 76
John Travolta, 72
Gary Reasons, 64
Chuck Long, 63
Molly Ringwald, 58
Le’Veon Bell, 34
Isaac Paredes, 27
Jordan Westburg, 27
— P Walker Buehler signed a free agent deal with San Diego; he pitched for the Phillies/Red Sox last year, after pitching eight years for the Dodgers. In his career, Buehler is 57-29, 3.52 in 146 career starts, 4-4, 3.04 in 18 playoff starts.
— Twins P Pablo López has a “significant tear” in the UCL in his pitching arm, and is expected to need Tommy John surgery. He was 5-4, 2.74 in 14 starts LY, is 59-53, 3.81 in 172 career starts.
— A reminder about the NBA Draft: Stephen Curry was the 7th player taken in the 2009 NBA Draft, being luminaries like Hasheem Thabeet and Jonny Flynn.
Shea Gilgeous-Alexander was the 11th pick in the 2018, taken behind Mo Bamba, Kevin Knox and Marvin Bagley.
Much like the NFL Draft, smarter NBA teams gain an advantage thru the draft.
— Hannah Storm has been on TV for 40+ years now; these days, she works on ESPN.
Back in the day, her father was Mike Storen, who once ran the Atlanta Hawks, two ABA teams and was also commissioner of the ABA for a while. He was the first general manager of the Indiana Pacers, who were originally an ABA team.
— Miami Dolphins are cutting their payroll; they’re now $13M under the salary cap after letting WR Tyreek Hill go, and releasing DE Bradley Chubb, WR Nick Westbrook-Ihkine and OL James Daniels.
Last week the Dolphins admitted that QB Tua Tagovailoa’s future in Miami is undecided, and Miami has publicly let it be known that Tagovailoa, who is due $54M in 2026, is available via trade. If they can’t trade him, his contract will greatly hamper their salary cap situation.
Thursday’s 6-pack
Teams with best eFG% defense in the country:
43.0%— Saint Louis (24-2)
43.2%— Michigan (25-1)
44.8%— Kansas (20-6)
44.8%— Virginia (23-3)
44.9%— Arizona (24-2)
44.9%— Cal-Irvine (17-9)
Quote of the Day
“That locker room is still healing, and they needed a shot in the arm. We have been through a lot as a group; we’ve shed a lot of tears, and they needed something like this. It’s a great win for us. I’m not sure I’ve ever been prouder of a group.”
Creighton coach Greg McDermott; the mom of one of Creighton’s players recently passed away
Tuesday’s quiz
Who is the all-time leading scorer (points/game) for the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder franchise?
Wednesday’s quiz
In the movie The Natural, Robert Redford’s character (Roy Hobbs) wore number 9 for the New York Knights.
Tuesday’s quiz
San Diego Padres used to be owned by Ray Kroc, the same guy who owned the McDonald’s fast food franchise.
*********************************
Arkansas led by 13 with 12:44 left in the game.
Alabama was 27-34 on foul line, Arkansas 16-19
Razorbacks had four guys foul out; they used two subs who almost never play.
Darius Acuff scored 49 points for Arkansas.
— Creighton 91, UConn 84
Creighton was 27-32 on foul line, UConn 11-18.
Just second win in last seven games for the Bluejays.
UConn split its last four games, after a 22-1 start.
— Texas A&M 80, Ole Miss 77
Ole Miss led by 13 with 11:47 left in the game.
Rebels have now lost eight games in a row.
Win snaps Aggies’ four-game losing skid.
— DePaul 69, Seton Hall 57
Big East underdogs were 3-1 SU/4-0 ATS Wednesday
Blue Demons had 35-22 edge on the boards.
Seton Hall has 45.9 eFG% in Big East games, worst in league.
— St John’s 76, Marquette 70
Marquette led by 6 with 11:53 left in the game.
6-7 senior Hopkins scored 23 points, had 10 rebounds.
Red Storm have now won 12 games in a row.
— Wake Forest 85, Clemson 77
Wake Forest led by 20 late in the first half.
Deacons shot 62.1% inside arc, scored 1.28 ppp.
Third straight loss for Clemson, after a 20-4 start.
— Arizona 75, BYU 68
6-6 senior Dell’Orso scored 22 points in 26:00 off bench.
Arizona snaps a two-game skid, which followed its 23-0 start.
Wildcats have the 5th-best eFG% defense in the country.
— Upsets of the Night:
Creighton (+16.5) 91, UConn 84
Utah (+10.5) 61, West Virginia 56
DePaul (+8.5) 69, Seton Hall 57
Butler (+6.5) 93, Georgetown 89
Mississippi State (+4.5) 91, Auburn 85
St Joe’s (+4.5) 71, St Bonaventure 65
— Famous birthdays, February 19th:
Paul Krause, 84
June Jones, 73
Jeff Daniels, 71
Rudy Macklin, 68
Mike Miller, 46
Dwight Freeney, 46
Josh Reddick, 39
JP Sears, 30
— Injuries are starting to take their toll:
Texas Tech lost their best player (JT Toppin) for the year with a torn ACL. Toppin scored 21.8 ppg this season for the 19-7 Red Raiders.
BYU lost Richie Saunders for the year with a torn ACL; he scored 18 ppg for the 19-7 Cougars, who are 3-6 in the last nine games.
Random trivia: Saunders’ grandfather is the guy who invented Tater Tots.
— San Diego Toreros fired basketball coach Steve Lavin after four years on the job. San Diego is 11-17 this year, 5-10 in the WCC. They’re 18-47 in WCC games under Lavin.
San Diego hasn’t been in the NCAA’s since 2008; Lavin is a good guy who was a very good TV analyst. Hope he goes back on TV next season.
— Iowa State only had 3 turnovers in their win over Houston Monday; in a slow-paced, 58 possession game, Cyclones took good care of the ball, and improved to 10-3 in the Big X
— Saint Mary’s 72, Seattle 70
Gaels narrowly avoid what would’ve been a damaging loss.
Teams combined to shoot 8-32 on the arc.
Saint Mary’s has won five in a row, is 13-2 in the WCC.
— Mississippi State 91, Auburn 85
MSU’s Josh Hubbard scored 46 points, 35 in first half.
Miss State led by 18 early in second half.
Auburn rallied to lead 80-73 with 3:56 left in the game.
Bulldogs shot 16-30 on arc, scored 1.35 ppp.
— Western Kentucky 88, Delaware 87 OT
Blue Hens led by 16 late in the first half.
Delaware lost despite shooting 64.3% inside the arc.
Hilltoppers won four of their last five games.
— Missouri 81, Vanderbilt 80
Mizzou led by 21 with 8:33 left, hung on for dear life.
Tigers were 25-32 on foul line, Vandy 14-18
Both teams are 8-5 in SEC games.
Teams with best eFG% defense in the country:
43.0%— Saint Louis (24-2)
43.2%— Michigan (25-1)
44.8%— Kansas (20-6)
44.8%— Virginia (23-3)
44.9%— Arizona (24-2)
44.9%— Cal-Irvine (17-9)
Quote of the Day
“That locker room is still healing, and they needed a shot in the arm. We have been through a lot as a group; we’ve shed a lot of tears, and they needed something like this. It’s a great win for us. I’m not sure I’ve ever been prouder of a group.”
Creighton coach Greg McDermott; the mom of one of Creighton’s players recently passed away
Tuesday’s quiz
Who is the all-time leading scorer (points/game) for the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder franchise?
Wednesday’s quiz
In the movie The Natural, Robert Redford’s character (Roy Hobbs) wore number 9 for the New York Knights.
Tuesday’s quiz
San Diego Padres used to be owned by Ray Kroc, the same guy who owned the McDonald’s fast food franchise.
*********************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud……
— Alabama 117, Arkansas 115, 2OTArkansas led by 13 with 12:44 left in the game.
Alabama was 27-34 on foul line, Arkansas 16-19
Razorbacks had four guys foul out; they used two subs who almost never play.
Darius Acuff scored 49 points for Arkansas.
— Creighton 91, UConn 84
Creighton was 27-32 on foul line, UConn 11-18.
Just second win in last seven games for the Bluejays.
UConn split its last four games, after a 22-1 start.
— Texas A&M 80, Ole Miss 77
Ole Miss led by 13 with 11:47 left in the game.
Rebels have now lost eight games in a row.
Win snaps Aggies’ four-game losing skid.
— DePaul 69, Seton Hall 57
Big East underdogs were 3-1 SU/4-0 ATS Wednesday
Blue Demons had 35-22 edge on the boards.
Seton Hall has 45.9 eFG% in Big East games, worst in league.
— St John’s 76, Marquette 70
Marquette led by 6 with 11:53 left in the game.
6-7 senior Hopkins scored 23 points, had 10 rebounds.
Red Storm have now won 12 games in a row.
— Wake Forest 85, Clemson 77
Wake Forest led by 20 late in the first half.
Deacons shot 62.1% inside arc, scored 1.28 ppp.
Third straight loss for Clemson, after a 20-4 start.
— Arizona 75, BYU 68
6-6 senior Dell’Orso scored 22 points in 26:00 off bench.
Arizona snaps a two-game skid, which followed its 23-0 start.
Wildcats have the 5th-best eFG% defense in the country.
— Upsets of the Night:
Creighton (+16.5) 91, UConn 84
Utah (+10.5) 61, West Virginia 56
DePaul (+8.5) 69, Seton Hall 57
Butler (+6.5) 93, Georgetown 89
Mississippi State (+4.5) 91, Auburn 85
St Joe’s (+4.5) 71, St Bonaventure 65
— Famous birthdays, February 19th:
Paul Krause, 84
June Jones, 73
Jeff Daniels, 71
Rudy Macklin, 68
Mike Miller, 46
Dwight Freeney, 46
Josh Reddick, 39
JP Sears, 30
— Injuries are starting to take their toll:
Texas Tech lost their best player (JT Toppin) for the year with a torn ACL. Toppin scored 21.8 ppg this season for the 19-7 Red Raiders.
BYU lost Richie Saunders for the year with a torn ACL; he scored 18 ppg for the 19-7 Cougars, who are 3-6 in the last nine games.
Random trivia: Saunders’ grandfather is the guy who invented Tater Tots.
— San Diego Toreros fired basketball coach Steve Lavin after four years on the job. San Diego is 11-17 this year, 5-10 in the WCC. They’re 18-47 in WCC games under Lavin.
San Diego hasn’t been in the NCAA’s since 2008; Lavin is a good guy who was a very good TV analyst. Hope he goes back on TV next season.
— Iowa State only had 3 turnovers in their win over Houston Monday; in a slow-paced, 58 possession game, Cyclones took good care of the ball, and improved to 10-3 in the Big X
— Saint Mary’s 72, Seattle 70
Gaels narrowly avoid what would’ve been a damaging loss.
Teams combined to shoot 8-32 on the arc.
Saint Mary’s has won five in a row, is 13-2 in the WCC.
— Mississippi State 91, Auburn 85
MSU’s Josh Hubbard scored 46 points, 35 in first half.
Miss State led by 18 early in second half.
Auburn rallied to lead 80-73 with 3:56 left in the game.
Bulldogs shot 16-30 on arc, scored 1.35 ppp.
— Western Kentucky 88, Delaware 87 OT
Blue Hens led by 16 late in the first half.
Delaware lost despite shooting 64.3% inside the arc.
Hilltoppers won four of their last five games.
— Missouri 81, Vanderbilt 80
Mizzou led by 21 with 8:33 left, hung on for dear life.
Tigers were 25-32 on foul line, Vandy 14-18
Both teams are 8-5 in SEC games.
Friday’s 6-pack
Teams with worst eFG% defenses in the country:
58.1%— Penn State (11-16)
57.9%— IU Indy (7-22)
57.0%— VMI (6-22)
56.8%— Northeastern (6-19)
56.7%— San Jose State (7-19)
56.6%— North Dakota (16-14)
Quote of the Day
“I feel great about the progress. You heard Tyler’s comments in terms of where they are on the schedule, and we’ve pretty much hit every deadline. The county has been great to work with. I feel great about that.”
A’s President Marc Badain, on the progress of the team’s new ballpark in Las Vegas
Friday’s quiz
Who is the New York Mets’ all-time leader in stolen bases?
Thursday’s quiz
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the all-time leading scorer (points/game) for the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder franchise.
Wednesday’s quiz
In the movie The Natural, Robert Redford’s character (Roy Hobbs) wore number 9 for the New York Knights.
*****************************************
Understood, I sound like an old guy whining, but it is true……
— Marshall 94, Appalachian State 93
Marshall is #84 tempo team, App State #358; game only had 66 possessions.
App State led by 13 with 16:47 left in the game.
Marshall shot 67.6% inside arc, scored 1.41 ppp.
App State was 28-40 on foul line, Marshall 15-21.
Back in the day, when ESPN first started, Sun Belt was the first league they showed on a regular basis. ESPN should give the Sun Belt a regular Thursday night slot on their schedule.
— Cal-Northridge 85, Cal-Santa Barbara 83 OT
UCSB led by five with 0:30 left in regulation.
Matadors were 28-63 inside arc, 3-17 outside arc.
UCSB was 13-40 on arc, only 9-25 inside arc.
CSUN has won six in a row, is now 10-5 in Big West games.
Northridge was +10 in turnovers (6-16)
— Texas State 90, South Alabama 82 OT
Bobcats were 24-33 on foul line, South Alabama 13-19.
Texas State’s bench outscored Jaguars’ subs, 45-6.
South Alabama split its last four games, all decided by 6 or fewer points.
— Campbell 84, Wm & Mary 83
Camels got over the hump, hit runner at the buzzer for the win.
Wm & Mary led by 10 late in first half.
Jeremiah Johnson played all 40:00, scored 32 points, had 7 assists.
Campbell has won four of its last five games.
— Tulane 77, North Texas 71
North Texas led by 15 with 11:33 left to play.
Tulane won four of its last five games.
Green Wave covered six of their last eight games.
— Weber State 82, Montana State 79
Weber State’s bench outscored Montana State’s subs, 34-17
Bobcats lost 4 of last 6 games; they trail Portland State by 3 games.
Montana State lost despite shooting 64.7% inside arc.
— Little Rock 67, Tenn-Martin 65
Skyhawks led by 6 with 2:52 left in the game.
Tenn-Martin lost four of last five games, after starting 10-2 in OVC.
Just second win in last nine games for Little Rock.
— Famous birthdays, February 20th:
Bill Gullickson, 67
Charles Barkley, 63
Stephon Marbury, 49
Jay Hernandez, 48
Justin Verlander, 43
Robyn Fenty, 37 (Rihanna)
Jurickson Profar, 33
Luis Severino, 32
— Kansas City Chiefs re-structured Patrick Mahomes’ contract this week, creating $43.56M in salary cap space. Chiefs converted $54.45M of Mahomes’ 2026 salary into a signing bonus. Mahomes is under contract to the Chiefs through 2031; his salary cap number next year will be around $85M.
Chiefs, by the way, were 1-9 this past season in games decided by 8 or less points. In 2024, they were 11-0 in one-score games.
— Penn State’s football team has 16 returning starters next fall, but 13 of those 16 players started at Iowa State last year, for new coach Matt Campbell. Only three guys who started for Penn State last year will be on the team next fall.
— Iowa State’s basketball team beat Kansas/Houston Saturday/Monday, a pretty good three-day span; Cyclones had only three turnovers in a slow-paced (58 possessions) game.
— Northern Illinois football coach Thomas Hammock quit this week, to become running backs coach for the Seattle Seahawks. Hammopck was 35-47 at Northern Illinois, 3-9 last year; they’re leaving the MAC for the Mountain West next fall.
— David Blough is the new offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders; back in 2024, Blough was a backup QB for Detroit when the team was featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks.
One of the better scenes that year was when Blough’s wife, Melissa Gonzalez, ran in the 400-meter hurdles in the Olympics in France. Several of Blough’s teammates/coaches gathered in a meeting room to watch the race on a big screen TV.
— Which reminds me baseball needs a Hard Knocks-type program, to show younger people how cool baseball is.
Here’s the thing: the NFL is expert at promoting itself, so baseball needs to do the same stuff the NFL does to promote their sport. This seems kind of simple.
—Interesting team to follow in spring training would be the Cincinnati Reds, who made the playoffs last year for the first time in five years, the first year for manager Terry Francona.
Reds haven’t won a playoff series since 1995, but they appear to be on an upward trajectory.
Teams with worst eFG% defenses in the country:
58.1%— Penn State (11-16)
57.9%— IU Indy (7-22)
57.0%— VMI (6-22)
56.8%— Northeastern (6-19)
56.7%— San Jose State (7-19)
56.6%— North Dakota (16-14)
Quote of the Day
“I feel great about the progress. You heard Tyler’s comments in terms of where they are on the schedule, and we’ve pretty much hit every deadline. The county has been great to work with. I feel great about that.”
A’s President Marc Badain, on the progress of the team’s new ballpark in Las Vegas
Friday’s quiz
Who is the New York Mets’ all-time leader in stolen bases?
Thursday’s quiz
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the all-time leading scorer (points/game) for the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder franchise.
Wednesday’s quiz
In the movie The Natural, Robert Redford’s character (Roy Hobbs) wore number 9 for the New York Knights.
*****************************************
Friday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here…….
Basketball has gotten soft; they call a lot of flagrant fouls now. Kid takes a jumper and falls down, chances are they’re calling a foul. God forbid someone takes a random elbow, even if it isn’t intentional, it will be a flagrant foul. Soft.Understood, I sound like an old guy whining, but it is true……
— Marshall 94, Appalachian State 93
Marshall is #84 tempo team, App State #358; game only had 66 possessions.
App State led by 13 with 16:47 left in the game.
Marshall shot 67.6% inside arc, scored 1.41 ppp.
App State was 28-40 on foul line, Marshall 15-21.
Back in the day, when ESPN first started, Sun Belt was the first league they showed on a regular basis. ESPN should give the Sun Belt a regular Thursday night slot on their schedule.
— Cal-Northridge 85, Cal-Santa Barbara 83 OT
UCSB led by five with 0:30 left in regulation.
Matadors were 28-63 inside arc, 3-17 outside arc.
UCSB was 13-40 on arc, only 9-25 inside arc.
CSUN has won six in a row, is now 10-5 in Big West games.
Northridge was +10 in turnovers (6-16)
— Texas State 90, South Alabama 82 OT
Bobcats were 24-33 on foul line, South Alabama 13-19.
Texas State’s bench outscored Jaguars’ subs, 45-6.
South Alabama split its last four games, all decided by 6 or fewer points.
— Campbell 84, Wm & Mary 83
Camels got over the hump, hit runner at the buzzer for the win.
Wm & Mary led by 10 late in first half.
Jeremiah Johnson played all 40:00, scored 32 points, had 7 assists.
Campbell has won four of its last five games.
— Tulane 77, North Texas 71
North Texas led by 15 with 11:33 left to play.
Tulane won four of its last five games.
Green Wave covered six of their last eight games.
— Weber State 82, Montana State 79
Weber State’s bench outscored Montana State’s subs, 34-17
Bobcats lost 4 of last 6 games; they trail Portland State by 3 games.
Montana State lost despite shooting 64.7% inside arc.
— Little Rock 67, Tenn-Martin 65
Skyhawks led by 6 with 2:52 left in the game.
Tenn-Martin lost four of last five games, after starting 10-2 in OVC.
Just second win in last nine games for Little Rock.
— Famous birthdays, February 20th:
Bill Gullickson, 67
Charles Barkley, 63
Stephon Marbury, 49
Jay Hernandez, 48
Justin Verlander, 43
Robyn Fenty, 37 (Rihanna)
Jurickson Profar, 33
Luis Severino, 32
— Kansas City Chiefs re-structured Patrick Mahomes’ contract this week, creating $43.56M in salary cap space. Chiefs converted $54.45M of Mahomes’ 2026 salary into a signing bonus. Mahomes is under contract to the Chiefs through 2031; his salary cap number next year will be around $85M.
Chiefs, by the way, were 1-9 this past season in games decided by 8 or less points. In 2024, they were 11-0 in one-score games.
— Penn State’s football team has 16 returning starters next fall, but 13 of those 16 players started at Iowa State last year, for new coach Matt Campbell. Only three guys who started for Penn State last year will be on the team next fall.
— Iowa State’s basketball team beat Kansas/Houston Saturday/Monday, a pretty good three-day span; Cyclones had only three turnovers in a slow-paced (58 possessions) game.
— Northern Illinois football coach Thomas Hammock quit this week, to become running backs coach for the Seattle Seahawks. Hammopck was 35-47 at Northern Illinois, 3-9 last year; they’re leaving the MAC for the Mountain West next fall.
— David Blough is the new offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders; back in 2024, Blough was a backup QB for Detroit when the team was featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks.
One of the better scenes that year was when Blough’s wife, Melissa Gonzalez, ran in the 400-meter hurdles in the Olympics in France. Several of Blough’s teammates/coaches gathered in a meeting room to watch the race on a big screen TV.
— Which reminds me baseball needs a Hard Knocks-type program, to show younger people how cool baseball is.
Here’s the thing: the NFL is expert at promoting itself, so baseball needs to do the same stuff the NFL does to promote their sport. This seems kind of simple.
—Interesting team to follow in spring training would be the Cincinnati Reds, who made the playoffs last year for the first time in five years, the first year for manager Terry Francona.
Reds haven’t won a playoff series since 1995, but they appear to be on an upward trajectory.
Saturday’s 6-pack
— Saint Louis 88, VCU 75- Billikens outscored VCU 55-33 in second half
— Purdue 93, Indiana 64- Boilermakers scored 1.46 points/possession.
— Miami OH 91, Bowling Green 77- Redhawks improve to 27-0.
— Green Bay 73, Oakland 68- Green Bay was 4-28 LY; they’re 16-13 this year.
— Fairfield 78, Sacred Heart 68- Stags shot 11-24 on the arc.
— Iona 72, Saint Peter’s 64 OT- Teams combined to shoot 14-54 on the arc.
Quote of the Day
“The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.”
Rumi
Saturday’s quiz
Who was the last NBA MVP who was 30+ years old when he won the award?
Friday’s quiz
Jose Reyes is the New York Mets’ all-time leader in stolen bases.
Thursday’s quiz
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the all-time leading scorer (points/game) for the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder franchise.
******************************************
— ACC
Boston College 8-3 ATS last 11 games
Cal 5-2 ATS road underdog
Duke/NC State are both 1-4 ATS last five games
Florida State 7-2 ATS last nine games
Georgia Tech 1-5 ATS last six games
Miami 1-6 ATS home favorite.
Syracuse 5-1 ATS last six games
Virginia Tech 6-1 ATS road underdog
— American
UAB 4-0 ATS road underdog, 0-6 ATS home favorite
East Carolina/Tex-San Antonio both 5-2 ATS last seven games
Florida Atlantic 2-6 ATS last eight games.
Rice 9-3 ATS last 12 games
Temple 2-5 ATS last seven games
Tulsa 0-5 ATS last five games
— Atlantic 14
Duquesne 7-2 ATS last nine games
Fordham 6-2 ATS last eight games
George Mason 1-4 SU/0-5 ATS last five games
George Washington 1-5 ATS last six games
Home team is 10-3 ATS in LaSalle games
Loyola Chi 3-9 ATS last 12 games
St Bonaventure 1-6 ATS at home
St Joe’s 10-1 ATS last 11 games.
— Big 18
Illinois 10-3 ATS last 13 games
Maryland 4-10 ATS as an underdog
Michigan 5-1 ATS last six games
Michigan State 6-1 ATS home favorite
Nebraska 1-4 ATS last five games
Oregon 3-9 ATS last 12 games.
Purdue 1-5 ATS home favorite
Rutgers 10-3 ATS last 13 games
USC 4-0 ATS last four games as road underdog
UCLA 0-4 ATS as road underdog
Washington 6-2 ATS last eight games
Wisconsin 4-1 ATS last five games
— Big X
Arizona 1-4 ATS last five games
Arizona State 6-1 ATS last seven games.
Baylor 0-4 ATS home underdog.
BYU 2-9 ATS last 11 games
Iowa State 7-2 ATS last nine games.
Kansas 8-2 ATS last ten games.
Oklahoma State 0-4 SU/ATS last four games.
Utah 6-2 ATS last eight games.
West Virginia 2-5 ATS last seven games.
— Big East
Butler 2-5 ATS last seven games.
UConn 2-10 ATS last 12 games (2-6 as HF)
Creighton 1-10 ATS last eleven games.
DePaul 10-3 ATS last 13 games.
Georgetown 5-2 ATS as road underdog.
Marquette 5-1 ATS last six games.
St John’s 5-2 ATS road favorite.
Villanova 6-2 ATS last eight games.
— Famous birthdays, February 21st:
Tyne Daly, 80
William Peterson, 73
Rob Hertel, 71
Alan Trammell, 68
Steve Francis, 49
Jennifer Love Hewitt, 47
Sam Hilliard, 32
Dalton Rushing, 25
— Missouri Valley
Bradley 2-5 ATS as home favorite
Drake 1-7 SU/0-8 ATS last eight games
Ill-Chicago 10-3 ATS last 13 games.
Illinois State 0-5 ATS road favorite.
Indiana State covered last seven road games.
Murray State 2-9 ATS last 11 games.
Northern Iowa 8-1 ATS last nine games.
Southern Illinois 2-6 ATS home favorite.
— Mountain West
Air Force 1-7 ATS last eight games.
Boise State 1-4 ATS last five games.
Colorado State 4-0 SU/3-1 ATS last four games.
Fresno State 11-3 ATS last 14 games.
Grand Canyon 1-4 ATS home favorite
Underdogs 7-1 ATS in Nevada road games
UNLV 2-6 ATS last eight games
San Diego State 5-1 ATS road favorite.
Utah State 3-7 ATS last ten games.
Wyoming 4-1 ATS last five games.
— SEC
Alabama 2-5 ATS home favorite.
Arkansas 6-2 ATS last eight games
Auburn 0-4 SU/ATS last four games.
Florida 5-1 ATS on the road.
Georgia 2-5 ATS last seven games
Kentucky 4-1 ATS last five games
LSU 6-1 ATS road underdog
Ole Miss 1-4 SU/ATS last five games.
South Carolina 1-5 ATS home underdog.
Vanderbilt 1-4 ATS last five games.
— Southern
Citadel 8-4 ATS last 12 games.
Furman 1-7 ATS home favorite
Mercer 5-2 ATS home favorite.
NC-Greensboro 4-1 SU/ATS last five games.
Samford 7-1 SU/ATS last eight games.
VMI 2-10 ATS last 12 games
— Sun Belt
Appalachian State 6-2 ATS on the road.
Arkansas State 5-2 ATS road favorite.
Georgia Southern 1-10 ATS last 11 games
Georgia State 10-4 ATS last 14 games.
James Madison 1-5 ATS home favorite.
UL-Monroe 6-1 ATS last seven games.
Marshall 4-1 SU/1-4 ATS last five games.
Old Dominion 9-2 ATS last 11 games.
South Alabama 1-4 ATS home favorite.
Texas State 7-2 ATS last nine games
— WCC
Gonzaga won/covered last four games.
LMU 2-8 ATS last ten games.
Pacific 1-4 ATS road underdog.
Pepperdine 2-5 ATS home underdog.
Portland 1-4 ATS road underdog, 5-1 ATS home underdog
Saint Mary’s won/covered five of last six games.
San Diego 1-4 SU/ATS last five games.
San Francisco 1-7 ATS at home
Seattle 5-2 ATS at home
Washington State 5-2 ATS last seven games.
— Saint Louis 88, VCU 75- Billikens outscored VCU 55-33 in second half
— Purdue 93, Indiana 64- Boilermakers scored 1.46 points/possession.
— Miami OH 91, Bowling Green 77- Redhawks improve to 27-0.
— Green Bay 73, Oakland 68- Green Bay was 4-28 LY; they’re 16-13 this year.
— Fairfield 78, Sacred Heart 68- Stags shot 11-24 on the arc.
— Iona 72, Saint Peter’s 64 OT- Teams combined to shoot 14-54 on the arc.
Quote of the Day
“The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.”
Rumi
Saturday’s quiz
Who was the last NBA MVP who was 30+ years old when he won the award?
Friday’s quiz
Jose Reyes is the New York Mets’ all-time leader in stolen bases.
Thursday’s quiz
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the all-time leading scorer (points/game) for the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder franchise.
******************************************
Saturday’s Den: College basketball trends…….
All trends are for conference games:— ACC
Boston College 8-3 ATS last 11 games
Cal 5-2 ATS road underdog
Duke/NC State are both 1-4 ATS last five games
Florida State 7-2 ATS last nine games
Georgia Tech 1-5 ATS last six games
Miami 1-6 ATS home favorite.
Syracuse 5-1 ATS last six games
Virginia Tech 6-1 ATS road underdog
— American
UAB 4-0 ATS road underdog, 0-6 ATS home favorite
East Carolina/Tex-San Antonio both 5-2 ATS last seven games
Florida Atlantic 2-6 ATS last eight games.
Rice 9-3 ATS last 12 games
Temple 2-5 ATS last seven games
Tulsa 0-5 ATS last five games
— Atlantic 14
Duquesne 7-2 ATS last nine games
Fordham 6-2 ATS last eight games
George Mason 1-4 SU/0-5 ATS last five games
George Washington 1-5 ATS last six games
Home team is 10-3 ATS in LaSalle games
Loyola Chi 3-9 ATS last 12 games
St Bonaventure 1-6 ATS at home
St Joe’s 10-1 ATS last 11 games.
— Big 18
Illinois 10-3 ATS last 13 games
Maryland 4-10 ATS as an underdog
Michigan 5-1 ATS last six games
Michigan State 6-1 ATS home favorite
Nebraska 1-4 ATS last five games
Oregon 3-9 ATS last 12 games.
Purdue 1-5 ATS home favorite
Rutgers 10-3 ATS last 13 games
USC 4-0 ATS last four games as road underdog
UCLA 0-4 ATS as road underdog
Washington 6-2 ATS last eight games
Wisconsin 4-1 ATS last five games
— Big X
Arizona 1-4 ATS last five games
Arizona State 6-1 ATS last seven games.
Baylor 0-4 ATS home underdog.
BYU 2-9 ATS last 11 games
Iowa State 7-2 ATS last nine games.
Kansas 8-2 ATS last ten games.
Oklahoma State 0-4 SU/ATS last four games.
Utah 6-2 ATS last eight games.
West Virginia 2-5 ATS last seven games.
— Big East
Butler 2-5 ATS last seven games.
UConn 2-10 ATS last 12 games (2-6 as HF)
Creighton 1-10 ATS last eleven games.
DePaul 10-3 ATS last 13 games.
Georgetown 5-2 ATS as road underdog.
Marquette 5-1 ATS last six games.
St John’s 5-2 ATS road favorite.
Villanova 6-2 ATS last eight games.
— Famous birthdays, February 21st:
Tyne Daly, 80
William Peterson, 73
Rob Hertel, 71
Alan Trammell, 68
Steve Francis, 49
Jennifer Love Hewitt, 47
Sam Hilliard, 32
Dalton Rushing, 25
— Missouri Valley
Bradley 2-5 ATS as home favorite
Drake 1-7 SU/0-8 ATS last eight games
Ill-Chicago 10-3 ATS last 13 games.
Illinois State 0-5 ATS road favorite.
Indiana State covered last seven road games.
Murray State 2-9 ATS last 11 games.
Northern Iowa 8-1 ATS last nine games.
Southern Illinois 2-6 ATS home favorite.
— Mountain West
Air Force 1-7 ATS last eight games.
Boise State 1-4 ATS last five games.
Colorado State 4-0 SU/3-1 ATS last four games.
Fresno State 11-3 ATS last 14 games.
Grand Canyon 1-4 ATS home favorite
Underdogs 7-1 ATS in Nevada road games
UNLV 2-6 ATS last eight games
San Diego State 5-1 ATS road favorite.
Utah State 3-7 ATS last ten games.
Wyoming 4-1 ATS last five games.
— SEC
Alabama 2-5 ATS home favorite.
Arkansas 6-2 ATS last eight games
Auburn 0-4 SU/ATS last four games.
Florida 5-1 ATS on the road.
Georgia 2-5 ATS last seven games
Kentucky 4-1 ATS last five games
LSU 6-1 ATS road underdog
Ole Miss 1-4 SU/ATS last five games.
South Carolina 1-5 ATS home underdog.
Vanderbilt 1-4 ATS last five games.
— Southern
Citadel 8-4 ATS last 12 games.
Furman 1-7 ATS home favorite
Mercer 5-2 ATS home favorite.
NC-Greensboro 4-1 SU/ATS last five games.
Samford 7-1 SU/ATS last eight games.
VMI 2-10 ATS last 12 games
— Sun Belt
Appalachian State 6-2 ATS on the road.
Arkansas State 5-2 ATS road favorite.
Georgia Southern 1-10 ATS last 11 games
Georgia State 10-4 ATS last 14 games.
James Madison 1-5 ATS home favorite.
UL-Monroe 6-1 ATS last seven games.
Marshall 4-1 SU/1-4 ATS last five games.
Old Dominion 9-2 ATS last 11 games.
South Alabama 1-4 ATS home favorite.
Texas State 7-2 ATS last nine games
— WCC
Gonzaga won/covered last four games.
LMU 2-8 ATS last ten games.
Pacific 1-4 ATS road underdog.
Pepperdine 2-5 ATS home underdog.
Portland 1-4 ATS road underdog, 5-1 ATS home underdog
Saint Mary’s won/covered five of last six games.
San Diego 1-4 SU/ATS last five games.
San Francisco 1-7 ATS at home
Seattle 5-2 ATS at home
Washington State 5-2 ATS last seven games.
Sunday’s 6-pack
Since 1998, most games won when trailing after 7th inning:
220— San Francisco
198— Bronx
197— Atlanta
197— Minnesota
162— Detroit
162— Pittsburgh
Quote of the Day
“I think everyone should go to college and get a degree, then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cab driver. Then they would really be educated.”
Al McGuire
Sunday’s quiz
Where did Steve Nash play his college basketball?
Saturday’s quiz
Last NBA MVP who was 30+ years old when he won the award was Steve Nash, in 2006.
Friday’s quiz
Jose Reyes is the New York Mets’ all-time leader in stolen bases.
*********************************************
We lost him 11 years ago; he is missed every day. Happy birthday, dad.
This was also my Aunt Jo’s birthday, one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Never went in her house without getting offered a piece of pie, good pie too.
— Duke 68, Michigan 63
Weird time of year to play a non-league game like this one.
11th straight Duke game with fewer than 70 possessions; they’re #296 in pace.
Loss ends Michigan’s 11-game winning streak
Duke had a 41-28 edge on the boards.
— Arizona 73, Houston 66
This was Arizona’s 4th straight game against a top 25 team.
Houston shot only 35.7% from the floor.
6-6 senior Dell’Orso scored 22 points in 34:00 off the bench.
Second straight loss for Houston, after a 23-2 start.
— UCLA 95, Illinois 94 OT
Illinois led this game 33-10 midway thru first half.
Illini is 2-3 in last five games; all three losses were in overtime.
UCLA had only five turnovers in a 73-possession game.
Illinois had a 43-27 edge on the boards.
— Cincinnati 84, Kansas 68
Bearcats’ 4th straight win, after starting 3-7 in Big X.
Cincinnati shot 12-31 on arc, scored 1.24 points/possession.
Kansas shot only 4-18 behind the arc.
Bearcats had a 40-29 edge on the boards.
— Upsets of the Day:
Cincinnati (+10.5) 84, Kansas 68
Wyoming (+9.5) 70, Grand Canyon 65
Florida State (+8.5) 70, Clemson 65
Western Kentucky (+7.5) 94, Liberty 73
Valparaiso (+7.5) 71, Ill-Chicago 67
Buffalo (+7.5) 86, UMass 82 OT
North Carolina A&T (+7.5) 102, Elon 82
Dartmouth (+6.5) 64, Columbia 63
Oregon (+6.5) 71, USC 70
UCLA (+6.5) 95, Illinois 94 OT
Eastern Washington (+6.5) 67, Portland State 55
Southern Illinois (+6.5) 59, Northern Iowa 57
— Auburn 75, Kentucky 74
Auburn put in a rebound with 0:01.4 left for the win.
Kentucky led by nine early in second half.
KeShawn Murphy had 25 points, 10 rebounds for Auburn.
Win ends Auburn’s five-game losing streak.
— Western Kentucky 94, Liberty 73
Liberty slips to 15-1 in Conference USA; their last loss was December 10th.
Hilltoppers shot 10-21 on arc, scored 1.36 ppp.
Fourth straight win for Western Kentucky (9-7 in C-USA)
Liberty lost despite shooting 79.2% inside the arc.
— New Mexico 80, Fresno State 78
Bulldogs led 40-18 with 5:20 left before halftime.
New Mexico has won seven of its last nine games.
Fresno was only 5-9 on the foul line; Lobos were 11-13.
— Virginia 86, Miami 83
Miami led by 11 midway thru first half.
Both teams made half their 3-point shots.
Virginia is 24-3, 12-2 in ACC; Miami is 21-6, 10-4 in ACC.
— Famous birthdays, February 22nd:
Paul Dooley, 98
Julius Erving, 76
Mike Hohensee, 65
Jeri Ryan, 58
Mark Chmura, 57
Drew Barrymore, 51
Khalil Mack, 35
Chris Bassitt, 37
Ben Rice, 27
Caleb Durbin, 26
— Colorado State 83, San Diego State 74
San Diego State shot only 39.5% inside the arc.
Fifth straight win for the Rams (8-8 in Mountain West)
Aztecs made last five NCAA tourneys; they’re on bubble this year.
— Arkansas 94, Missouri 86
Hogs shot 55.8% inside arc, scored 1.37 ppp.
Arkansas has won seven of its last nine games.
Arkansas is shooting 58.8% inside arc in SEC games.
— Tennessee 69, Vanderbilt 65
Commodores led 35-31 at halftime.
Tennessee has won four in row, eight of its last nine games.
Vandy is 5-6 in its last 11 games, after starting season 16-0.
— Gonzaga 71, Pacific 62
Game was tied 29-29 at halftime.
Zags were +11 in turnovers (4-15) in a 61-possession game.
Pacific lost five of last seven games, after starting 6-4 in WCC.
— Southern Miss 86, Old Dominion 81
Old Dominion led by 18 with 3:35 left in first half.
USM shot 55.8% inside arc, survived turning ball over 26 times.
Southern Miss had a 39-25 edge on the boards.
Since 1998, most games won when trailing after 7th inning:
220— San Francisco
198— Bronx
197— Atlanta
197— Minnesota
162— Detroit
162— Pittsburgh
Quote of the Day
“I think everyone should go to college and get a degree, then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cab driver. Then they would really be educated.”
Al McGuire
Sunday’s quiz
Where did Steve Nash play his college basketball?
Saturday’s quiz
Last NBA MVP who was 30+ years old when he won the award was Steve Nash, in 2006.
Friday’s quiz
Jose Reyes is the New York Mets’ all-time leader in stolen bases.
*********************************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a Saturday full of basketball…….
— Today would’ve been my dad’s 100th birthday; he was my best friend, a good soul, an honest person who loved the Mets, the Knicks, playing golf and he loved his family.We lost him 11 years ago; he is missed every day. Happy birthday, dad.
This was also my Aunt Jo’s birthday, one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Never went in her house without getting offered a piece of pie, good pie too.
— Duke 68, Michigan 63
Weird time of year to play a non-league game like this one.
11th straight Duke game with fewer than 70 possessions; they’re #296 in pace.
Loss ends Michigan’s 11-game winning streak
Duke had a 41-28 edge on the boards.
— Arizona 73, Houston 66
This was Arizona’s 4th straight game against a top 25 team.
Houston shot only 35.7% from the floor.
6-6 senior Dell’Orso scored 22 points in 34:00 off the bench.
Second straight loss for Houston, after a 23-2 start.
— UCLA 95, Illinois 94 OT
Illinois led this game 33-10 midway thru first half.
Illini is 2-3 in last five games; all three losses were in overtime.
UCLA had only five turnovers in a 73-possession game.
Illinois had a 43-27 edge on the boards.
— Cincinnati 84, Kansas 68
Bearcats’ 4th straight win, after starting 3-7 in Big X.
Cincinnati shot 12-31 on arc, scored 1.24 points/possession.
Kansas shot only 4-18 behind the arc.
Bearcats had a 40-29 edge on the boards.
— Upsets of the Day:
Cincinnati (+10.5) 84, Kansas 68
Wyoming (+9.5) 70, Grand Canyon 65
Florida State (+8.5) 70, Clemson 65
Western Kentucky (+7.5) 94, Liberty 73
Valparaiso (+7.5) 71, Ill-Chicago 67
Buffalo (+7.5) 86, UMass 82 OT
North Carolina A&T (+7.5) 102, Elon 82
Dartmouth (+6.5) 64, Columbia 63
Oregon (+6.5) 71, USC 70
UCLA (+6.5) 95, Illinois 94 OT
Eastern Washington (+6.5) 67, Portland State 55
Southern Illinois (+6.5) 59, Northern Iowa 57
— Auburn 75, Kentucky 74
Auburn put in a rebound with 0:01.4 left for the win.
Kentucky led by nine early in second half.
KeShawn Murphy had 25 points, 10 rebounds for Auburn.
Win ends Auburn’s five-game losing streak.
— Western Kentucky 94, Liberty 73
Liberty slips to 15-1 in Conference USA; their last loss was December 10th.
Hilltoppers shot 10-21 on arc, scored 1.36 ppp.
Fourth straight win for Western Kentucky (9-7 in C-USA)
Liberty lost despite shooting 79.2% inside the arc.
— New Mexico 80, Fresno State 78
Bulldogs led 40-18 with 5:20 left before halftime.
New Mexico has won seven of its last nine games.
Fresno was only 5-9 on the foul line; Lobos were 11-13.
— Virginia 86, Miami 83
Miami led by 11 midway thru first half.
Both teams made half their 3-point shots.
Virginia is 24-3, 12-2 in ACC; Miami is 21-6, 10-4 in ACC.
— Famous birthdays, February 22nd:
Paul Dooley, 98
Julius Erving, 76
Mike Hohensee, 65
Jeri Ryan, 58
Mark Chmura, 57
Drew Barrymore, 51
Khalil Mack, 35
Chris Bassitt, 37
Ben Rice, 27
Caleb Durbin, 26
— Colorado State 83, San Diego State 74
San Diego State shot only 39.5% inside the arc.
Fifth straight win for the Rams (8-8 in Mountain West)
Aztecs made last five NCAA tourneys; they’re on bubble this year.
— Arkansas 94, Missouri 86
Hogs shot 55.8% inside arc, scored 1.37 ppp.
Arkansas has won seven of its last nine games.
Arkansas is shooting 58.8% inside arc in SEC games.
— Tennessee 69, Vanderbilt 65
Commodores led 35-31 at halftime.
Tennessee has won four in row, eight of its last nine games.
Vandy is 5-6 in its last 11 games, after starting season 16-0.
— Gonzaga 71, Pacific 62
Game was tied 29-29 at halftime.
Zags were +11 in turnovers (4-15) in a 61-possession game.
Pacific lost five of last seven games, after starting 6-4 in WCC.
— Southern Miss 86, Old Dominion 81
Old Dominion led by 18 with 3:35 left in first half.
USM shot 55.8% inside arc, survived turning ball over 26 times.
Southern Miss had a 39-25 edge on the boards.
Monday’s 6-pack
Since 1998, most games lost when leading after 7th inning:
209— Arizona
204— White Sox
201— Royals
200— Mets
165— Dodgers
157— Twins
Quote of the Day
“I don’t worry about the trips, we’re spoiled, we charter. We have great food, we stay in nice places. It’s really not that hard. We just gotta show up and play.”
Illinois coach Brad Underwood
Monday’s quiz
Who was basketball coach at UConn before Danny Hurley?
Sunday’s quiz
Steve Nash played his college basketball at Santa Clara.
Saturday’s quiz
Last NBA MVP who was 30+ years old when he won the award was Steve Nash, in 2006.
************************************************
— Spring training games are popular; Cubs drew a total of 27,000 fans for their first two games in Arizona this week. This is one thing I’ve never done, spring training games, partially because it is during the busy time for college basketball, but it seems like it would be fun.
— Colorado Rockies have 12 of their player headed to the World Baseball Classic, representing 10 different countries. Baseball’s regular season starts 12-14 days after the WBC winds down, I’m wondering if it is disruptive to teams getting ready for the major league season.
— Baltimore Orioles 3B Jordan Westburg is out until at least May with an elbow injury; he has a partial ligament tear in his throwing arm. Westburg hit .265 with 17 HR’s, 41 RBI in 85 games last year; he missed two months last year with a broken hand.
— I have a pretty good hat collection, was looking at the spring training hats online, but good grief, they’re $55 apiece on Fanatics. No thank you!!! Hats for teams in the World Baseball Classic are anywhere from $45-52, but they all have flags of the country on the right side of the hat, and the flags are kind of big, so once again, no thanks.
— Am watching a few fantasy baseball drafts on YouTube; it is interesting to hear what other people think about players. Some of these guys are obsessed with younger players, trying to tout players who break through and become a star, so they can pat themselves on the back.
Some of these guys are also in a lot of leagues, like 12-14 leagues. Not sure how you keep track of all of that, without having a nervous breakdown. I’m in one league, a 14-team keeper league, and I’m pretty sure I spend too much time running that team.
— RIP to Hall of Fame 2B Bill Mazeroski, who passed away this week at age 89. Mazeroski was an excellent fielder (8 Gold Gloves) who became famous for hitting a walk-off home run that ended the 1960 World Series. He played 17 years in the major leagues, all for the Pirates.
RIP, sir.
— Famous birthdays, February 23rd:
Jackie Smith, 86
Fred Biletnikoff, 83
Jim Youngblood, 76
Ed (Too Tall) Jones, 75
Paul McDonald, 68
Bobby Bonilla, 63
Jerod Mayo, 40
Jamal Murray, 29
— Virginia Commonwealth/Utah State are two college basketball programs that win a lot, but also change coaches a decent amount.
VCU:
2025-26- Phil Martelli Jr, 21-7
2023-25- Ryan Odom, 52-21 (left for Virginia)
2017-23- Mike Rhoades, 129-61 (left for Penn State)
2015-17- Will Wade, 51-20 (left for LSU)
2009-2015- Shaka Smart, 163-56 (left for Texas)
2006-09- Anthony Grant, 76-25 (left for Alabama)
2002-2006- Jeff Capel, 79-41 (left for Oklahoma)
Utah State
2024-26- Jerrod Calhoun, 49-12
2023-24- Danny Sprinkle, 28-7 (left for Washington)
2021-23- Ryan Odom, 44-25 (left for VCU)
2018-21- Craig Smith, 64-24 (left for Utah)
— Aidan Mahaney is a senior guard for Cal-Santa Barbara who has had an interesting journey:
2022-24- Two years at Saint Mary’s, where the Gaels went 53-16, 29-3 in WCC games, but only 1-2 in NCAA games. He played roughly 32:00/game there, was a big star
2024-25- Transferred to UConn, which had just won back/back national titles. He only started five games, played roughly 12 mpg for a 24-11 UConn team that lost in the second round of the NCAA’s, as a #8-seed.
20-25-26- Transferred to Cal-Santa Barbara, which 17-11, 10-7 in the Big West; they’ve got the #41 eFG% in the country, but they’re not good on defense. Mahaney is playing 33 mpg, I’ll be curious to see him at the NBA Summer League in July.
— Sunday is March 1st, so it is getting to be that time of year; here is some Bracketology stuff:
Four of the top eight seeds in the country lost Saturday.
Last four teams in Field of 68: Missouri, Ohio State, TCU, Santa Clara
First four teams out of Field of 68: USC, New Mexico, California, Virginia Tech
NCAA Tournament teams by conference:
11- SEC
10- Big 18
8- Big X, ACC
3- Big East, West Coast
— Merrimack 88, Iona 86, 2OT
Merrimack is 16-2 in MAAC, has won eight in a row, the last two in OT.
Unusual for a 20-9 team to be the worst team in country on defensive boards.
Merrimack played two guys all 50:00 in this game, two others 46:00 each.
Am I wrong to think that it might be tough to win a conference tournament if you play your bench a total of 18:00 in a double OT game?
— Robert Morris 81, Wright State 68
Robert Morris has won five in row, improves to 11-7 in Horizon.
Wright State split its last six games, after a 10-1 streak.
Wright State is going be the #1 seed in Horizon tourney, but they lost twice to Robert Morris this season.
— Wisconsin 84, Iowa 71
Hawkeyes led 41-40 at halftime.
Senior G Boyd had 27 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds for the Badgers.
Iowa has lost three of its last four games.
— Michigan State 66, Ohio State 60
Buckeyes led by 6, early in second half.
Spartans had a 43-26 edge on the boards.
Ohio State is 17-10, but 0-9 vs Quad 1 teams (the best teams)
Since 1998, most games lost when leading after 7th inning:
209— Arizona
204— White Sox
201— Royals
200— Mets
165— Dodgers
157— Twins
Quote of the Day
“I don’t worry about the trips, we’re spoiled, we charter. We have great food, we stay in nice places. It’s really not that hard. We just gotta show up and play.”
Illinois coach Brad Underwood
Monday’s quiz
Who was basketball coach at UConn before Danny Hurley?
Sunday’s quiz
Steve Nash played his college basketball at Santa Clara.
Saturday’s quiz
Last NBA MVP who was 30+ years old when he won the award was Steve Nash, in 2006.
************************************************
Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a snowy Sunday…….
— It is snowing here in upstate New York as I type this; it was 85 degrees in Florida for the Mets’ first spring training game Friday. This winter can’t end soon enough.— Spring training games are popular; Cubs drew a total of 27,000 fans for their first two games in Arizona this week. This is one thing I’ve never done, spring training games, partially because it is during the busy time for college basketball, but it seems like it would be fun.
— Colorado Rockies have 12 of their player headed to the World Baseball Classic, representing 10 different countries. Baseball’s regular season starts 12-14 days after the WBC winds down, I’m wondering if it is disruptive to teams getting ready for the major league season.
— Baltimore Orioles 3B Jordan Westburg is out until at least May with an elbow injury; he has a partial ligament tear in his throwing arm. Westburg hit .265 with 17 HR’s, 41 RBI in 85 games last year; he missed two months last year with a broken hand.
— I have a pretty good hat collection, was looking at the spring training hats online, but good grief, they’re $55 apiece on Fanatics. No thank you!!! Hats for teams in the World Baseball Classic are anywhere from $45-52, but they all have flags of the country on the right side of the hat, and the flags are kind of big, so once again, no thanks.
— Am watching a few fantasy baseball drafts on YouTube; it is interesting to hear what other people think about players. Some of these guys are obsessed with younger players, trying to tout players who break through and become a star, so they can pat themselves on the back.
Some of these guys are also in a lot of leagues, like 12-14 leagues. Not sure how you keep track of all of that, without having a nervous breakdown. I’m in one league, a 14-team keeper league, and I’m pretty sure I spend too much time running that team.
— RIP to Hall of Fame 2B Bill Mazeroski, who passed away this week at age 89. Mazeroski was an excellent fielder (8 Gold Gloves) who became famous for hitting a walk-off home run that ended the 1960 World Series. He played 17 years in the major leagues, all for the Pirates.
RIP, sir.
— Famous birthdays, February 23rd:
Jackie Smith, 86
Fred Biletnikoff, 83
Jim Youngblood, 76
Ed (Too Tall) Jones, 75
Paul McDonald, 68
Bobby Bonilla, 63
Jerod Mayo, 40
Jamal Murray, 29
— Virginia Commonwealth/Utah State are two college basketball programs that win a lot, but also change coaches a decent amount.
VCU:
2025-26- Phil Martelli Jr, 21-7
2023-25- Ryan Odom, 52-21 (left for Virginia)
2017-23- Mike Rhoades, 129-61 (left for Penn State)
2015-17- Will Wade, 51-20 (left for LSU)
2009-2015- Shaka Smart, 163-56 (left for Texas)
2006-09- Anthony Grant, 76-25 (left for Alabama)
2002-2006- Jeff Capel, 79-41 (left for Oklahoma)
Utah State
2024-26- Jerrod Calhoun, 49-12
2023-24- Danny Sprinkle, 28-7 (left for Washington)
2021-23- Ryan Odom, 44-25 (left for VCU)
2018-21- Craig Smith, 64-24 (left for Utah)
— Aidan Mahaney is a senior guard for Cal-Santa Barbara who has had an interesting journey:
2022-24- Two years at Saint Mary’s, where the Gaels went 53-16, 29-3 in WCC games, but only 1-2 in NCAA games. He played roughly 32:00/game there, was a big star
2024-25- Transferred to UConn, which had just won back/back national titles. He only started five games, played roughly 12 mpg for a 24-11 UConn team that lost in the second round of the NCAA’s, as a #8-seed.
20-25-26- Transferred to Cal-Santa Barbara, which 17-11, 10-7 in the Big West; they’ve got the #41 eFG% in the country, but they’re not good on defense. Mahaney is playing 33 mpg, I’ll be curious to see him at the NBA Summer League in July.
— Sunday is March 1st, so it is getting to be that time of year; here is some Bracketology stuff:
Four of the top eight seeds in the country lost Saturday.
Last four teams in Field of 68: Missouri, Ohio State, TCU, Santa Clara
First four teams out of Field of 68: USC, New Mexico, California, Virginia Tech
NCAA Tournament teams by conference:
11- SEC
10- Big 18
8- Big X, ACC
3- Big East, West Coast
— Merrimack 88, Iona 86, 2OT
Merrimack is 16-2 in MAAC, has won eight in a row, the last two in OT.
Unusual for a 20-9 team to be the worst team in country on defensive boards.
Merrimack played two guys all 50:00 in this game, two others 46:00 each.
Am I wrong to think that it might be tough to win a conference tournament if you play your bench a total of 18:00 in a double OT game?
— Robert Morris 81, Wright State 68
Robert Morris has won five in row, improves to 11-7 in Horizon.
Wright State split its last six games, after a 10-1 streak.
Wright State is going be the #1 seed in Horizon tourney, but they lost twice to Robert Morris this season.
— Wisconsin 84, Iowa 71
Hawkeyes led 41-40 at halftime.
Senior G Boyd had 27 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds for the Badgers.
Iowa has lost three of its last four games.
— Michigan State 66, Ohio State 60
Buckeyes led by 6, early in second half.
Spartans had a 43-26 edge on the boards.
Ohio State is 17-10, but 0-9 vs Quad 1 teams (the best teams)
Tuesday’s 6-pack
Top 6 college baseball teams, right now:
1- LSU
2- UCLA
3- Texas
4- Arkansas
5- Georgia Tech
6- North Carolina
Quote of the Day
“Adversity can be a wonderful teacher.”
Elizabeth Hardwick
Tuesday’s quiz
In the movie Molly’s Game, a true story about a woman who ran high stakes poker games, what famous actor played her father?
Monday’s quiz
Kevin Ollie was basketball coach at UConn before Danny Hurley.
Sunday’s quiz
Steve Nash played his college basketball at Santa Clara.
********************************
— ACC
Last year was first time in six years ACC Tourney champ was seeded higher than #3.
Last 12 tournaments, nine teams have won an ACC title.
Duke is 13-2 in last fifteen ACC Tournament games.
— American
Last nine years, six teams have won an AAC tournament
Last four years, UAB is 10-2 in conference tournaments
Last four years, North Texas went WL in their conference tournament.
— Atlantic 14
Last 15 years, #1-seed has won this tournament only four times.
Last 10 tournaments, eight teams have won an A-14 tournament
— Big 18
#1-seed has won this tournament twice in last nine years.
Last six tournaments, five teams have won an Big 18 tournament
Last four years, Purdue is 7-3 in this tournament
— Big X
Last four years, four different teams won an Big X tournament
Iowa State has won this tournament five of last 11 years.
Last three years, Kansas is 3-3 in Big X tournament games.
— Big East
#1-seed won three in row, six of last ten Big East tournaments.
Last five years, five different teams won a Big East tournament
Last year, St John’s won this tournament for first time since 2000.
— Big Sky
#1-seed won this tournament 11 of last 14 years.
Montana State won this tournament three of last four years.
Last 3 years, Eastern Washington is 37-16 in regular season, 0-3 in tournament.
— Big West
#1-seed won this tournament four of last six years.
Last five years, Cal-Irvine is 68-25 in regular season, 4-5 in tournament.
Since 2015, Cal-Northridge is 1-8 in this tournament
— CAA
#1-seed has won this tournament 7 of last 11 years.
Last three years, Charleston is 7-1 in this tournament
Last four years, NC-Wilmington is 7-3 in this tournament
— Conference USA
C-USA has re-aligned a lot, lot of different teams have won the tournament
Last four years, C-USA tourney winner was combined 53-19 in regular season
Last eight years, Liberty is 16-5 in its conference tournament.
— Horizon
#1-seed has won Horizon tourney four of last six years.
Last five years, five different teams have won the tournament
Last five years, Cleveland State is 9-4 in the tournament
— Ivy
Only top four teams make this tournament
Yale is 10-3 in tournament, winning four of the seven years.
Harvard is going to make tournament for first time since 2019.
— Famous birthdays, February 24th:
Edward James Olmos, 79
Tom Burleson, 74
Eddie Murray, 70
Phil McConkey, 69
Nick Esasky, 66
Billy Zane, 60
Mike Lowell, 52
Bronson Arroyo, 49
MacKenzie Gore, 27
— MAAC
#1-seed has won this tournament twice in last 14 years.
Since 2016, Iona is 23-4 in this tournament
Last five years, Siena is 47-49 in regular season, 0-5 in tournament
— Mid-American
Last five years, #1-seed has won tournament once.
Akron won this tournament the last two years.
Since 2019, Miami OH is 3-6 in this tournament
— Missouri Valley
Last five years, either #1 or #2-seed has won this tournament
Drake won this tournament last three years.
Last five years, Belmont is 3-5 in Arch Madness.
— Mountain West
Last four years, four different teams won this tournament.
Last three years, Grand Canyon won the WAC tournament.
UNLV hasn’t won this tournament since 2008.
Since 2014, San Diego State is 26-9 in this tournament
— Ohio Valley
Another league that has changed teams a lot.
Last four years, four different teams won this tournament.
Last four years, SE Missouri State is 6-2 in this tournament
— SEC
Last four years, four different teams won this tournament.
Last five years, Arkansas has gone WL in this tournament
Last two years, Florida is 6-1 in this tournament
Last five years, Kentucky is 2-5 in this tournament
— Southern
Last year was first time in last 10 years #1-seed didn’t win this tournament
Last five years, Furman is 8-4 in this tournament, 3-2 in OT games.
Last four years, Mercer went WL in this tournament
— Summit
#1-seed won this tournament the last four years.
Last five years, South Dakota State is 8-4 in this tournament
Last seven years, North Dakota State is 12-5 in this tourney (0-2 last 2 years)
— Sun Belt
Last five years, five different teams won this tournament.
Last four years, Georgia Southern went WL in this tournament
Last four years, Appalachian State is 2-4 in this tournament
— WAC
Grand Canyon won this tourney last three years; they’re gone now.
Last four years, Cal Baptist went WL in this tournament
Since 2014, Utah Valley is 7-4 in first tourney game, 1-6 in second game.
— WCC
This is Gonzaga’s last year in the WCC.
Since 2004, Gonzaga is 44-5 in WCC tourney; yes, 44-5.
Since 2016, Saint Mary’s in 15-8 in WCC tourney
Since 2018, Santa Clara is 4-8 in WCC tourney
Top 6 college baseball teams, right now:
1- LSU
2- UCLA
3- Texas
4- Arkansas
5- Georgia Tech
6- North Carolina
Quote of the Day
“Adversity can be a wonderful teacher.”
Elizabeth Hardwick
Tuesday’s quiz
In the movie Molly’s Game, a true story about a woman who ran high stakes poker games, what famous actor played her father?
Monday’s quiz
Kevin Ollie was basketball coach at UConn before Danny Hurley.
Sunday’s quiz
Steve Nash played his college basketball at Santa Clara.
********************************
Tuesday’s Den: Conference tournament trends for college hoop
Conference tournament trends:— ACC
Last year was first time in six years ACC Tourney champ was seeded higher than #3.
Last 12 tournaments, nine teams have won an ACC title.
Duke is 13-2 in last fifteen ACC Tournament games.
— American
Last nine years, six teams have won an AAC tournament
Last four years, UAB is 10-2 in conference tournaments
Last four years, North Texas went WL in their conference tournament.
— Atlantic 14
Last 15 years, #1-seed has won this tournament only four times.
Last 10 tournaments, eight teams have won an A-14 tournament
— Big 18
#1-seed has won this tournament twice in last nine years.
Last six tournaments, five teams have won an Big 18 tournament
Last four years, Purdue is 7-3 in this tournament
— Big X
Last four years, four different teams won an Big X tournament
Iowa State has won this tournament five of last 11 years.
Last three years, Kansas is 3-3 in Big X tournament games.
— Big East
#1-seed won three in row, six of last ten Big East tournaments.
Last five years, five different teams won a Big East tournament
Last year, St John’s won this tournament for first time since 2000.
— Big Sky
#1-seed won this tournament 11 of last 14 years.
Montana State won this tournament three of last four years.
Last 3 years, Eastern Washington is 37-16 in regular season, 0-3 in tournament.
— Big West
#1-seed won this tournament four of last six years.
Last five years, Cal-Irvine is 68-25 in regular season, 4-5 in tournament.
Since 2015, Cal-Northridge is 1-8 in this tournament
— CAA
#1-seed has won this tournament 7 of last 11 years.
Last three years, Charleston is 7-1 in this tournament
Last four years, NC-Wilmington is 7-3 in this tournament
— Conference USA
C-USA has re-aligned a lot, lot of different teams have won the tournament
Last four years, C-USA tourney winner was combined 53-19 in regular season
Last eight years, Liberty is 16-5 in its conference tournament.
— Horizon
#1-seed has won Horizon tourney four of last six years.
Last five years, five different teams have won the tournament
Last five years, Cleveland State is 9-4 in the tournament
— Ivy
Only top four teams make this tournament
Yale is 10-3 in tournament, winning four of the seven years.
Harvard is going to make tournament for first time since 2019.
— Famous birthdays, February 24th:
Edward James Olmos, 79
Tom Burleson, 74
Eddie Murray, 70
Phil McConkey, 69
Nick Esasky, 66
Billy Zane, 60
Mike Lowell, 52
Bronson Arroyo, 49
MacKenzie Gore, 27
— MAAC
#1-seed has won this tournament twice in last 14 years.
Since 2016, Iona is 23-4 in this tournament
Last five years, Siena is 47-49 in regular season, 0-5 in tournament
— Mid-American
Last five years, #1-seed has won tournament once.
Akron won this tournament the last two years.
Since 2019, Miami OH is 3-6 in this tournament
— Missouri Valley
Last five years, either #1 or #2-seed has won this tournament
Drake won this tournament last three years.
Last five years, Belmont is 3-5 in Arch Madness.
— Mountain West
Last four years, four different teams won this tournament.
Last three years, Grand Canyon won the WAC tournament.
UNLV hasn’t won this tournament since 2008.
Since 2014, San Diego State is 26-9 in this tournament
— Ohio Valley
Another league that has changed teams a lot.
Last four years, four different teams won this tournament.
Last four years, SE Missouri State is 6-2 in this tournament
— SEC
Last four years, four different teams won this tournament.
Last five years, Arkansas has gone WL in this tournament
Last two years, Florida is 6-1 in this tournament
Last five years, Kentucky is 2-5 in this tournament
— Southern
Last year was first time in last 10 years #1-seed didn’t win this tournament
Last five years, Furman is 8-4 in this tournament, 3-2 in OT games.
Last four years, Mercer went WL in this tournament
— Summit
#1-seed won this tournament the last four years.
Last five years, South Dakota State is 8-4 in this tournament
Last seven years, North Dakota State is 12-5 in this tourney (0-2 last 2 years)
— Sun Belt
Last five years, five different teams won this tournament.
Last four years, Georgia Southern went WL in this tournament
Last four years, Appalachian State is 2-4 in this tournament
— WAC
Grand Canyon won this tourney last three years; they’re gone now.
Last four years, Cal Baptist went WL in this tournament
Since 2014, Utah Valley is 7-4 in first tourney game, 1-6 in second game.
— WCC
This is Gonzaga’s last year in the WCC.
Since 2004, Gonzaga is 44-5 in WCC tourney; yes, 44-5.
Since 2016, Saint Mary’s in 15-8 in WCC tourney
Since 2018, Santa Clara is 4-8 in WCC tourney
Wednesday’s 6-pack
Teams with best eFG% in country:
60.9%— Belmont (25-4)
60.2%— Liberty (23-4)
60.1%— Saint Louis (25-3)
59.8%— St Thomas (21-8)
59.4%— Miami OH (28-0)
58.7%— Michigan (26-2)
Teams that make more shots win more games.
Quote of the Day
“Write down your success of the day. What you focus on shows up more in your life. Create a success journal.”
Jon Gordon
Wednesday’s quiz
Last season, which major league team won the most regular season games?
Tuesday’s quiz
In the movie Molly’s Game, a true story about a woman who ran high stakes poker games, Kevin Costner played her father.
Monday’s quiz
Kevin Ollie was basketball coach at UConn before Danny Hurley.
******************************************
Late-night stunner; Knights led 52-28 at halftime.
Central Florida shot 14-24 on the arc.
BYU is now 4-7 in its last 11 games, after a 16-1 start.
— Arizona 87, Baylor 80
Baylor led 41-34 at halftime, was outscored 53-41 in second half.
Baylor played really well, still lost for 5th time in last six games.
Freshman G Burries had 24 points, four assists for Arizona.
— Dayton 77, Saint Louis 62
Dayton led 44-28 at halftime.
Billikens lost 2 of last 3 games, after a 24-1 start.
Dayton has won four in a row; they only used seven guys.
— Northwestern 72, Indiana 68
Bubble teams shouldn’t lose at home to Northwestern.
Indiana led by 13 late in first half.
Hoosiers lost their last three games, this is a bad time to do that.
— Texas Tech 80, Cincinnati 68
Red Raiders shot 63% inside arc, scored 1.31 ppp.
Christian Anderson scored 31 points, had 11 rebounds, 7 assists.
Loss snaps Cincinnati’s four-game winning streak.
— Missouri 73, Tennessee 69
Mizzou shot 57.9% inside arc; they’re 5-2 in last seven games.
Brickfest; teams combined to shoot 11-41 on the arc.
Only second loss in last ten games for Tennessee.
— Ball State 74, UMass 73 OT
UMass led by 18 with 12:12 left in the game.
Fifth straight loss for UMass, three of them in overtime.
Davion Hill scored 26 points for Ball State.
— Colorado State 74, Fresno State 70
Fresno led by 10 with 10:20 left in the game.
Colorado State shot 58.6% inside the arc.
Rams have won six in a row, after starting 3-8 in Mountain West.
— Famous birthdays, February 25th:
Cesar Cedeno, 75
Bob Brenly, 72
Ed Lynch, 70
Kurt Rambis, 68
Todd Blackledge, 65
Don Majkowski, 62
Tea Leoni, 60
Jeff Fisher, 57
Rashida Jones, 50
Joakim Noah, 41
Jimmer Fredette, 37
Jorge Soler, 34
Erick Fedde, 33
Bo Nix, 26
— NFL Combine starts Thursday; NFL Draft is April 23-25, in Pittsburgh.
Quarterback prospects don’t always throw at the Combine, I don’t get that. What could it hurt? Some guys just throw at the “pro days” at their college, throwing to their college teammates, but teams have to have a pretty good idea by now of who a player is.
NFL Network will be busy the rest of the week; lot of 40-yard dashes.
— Detroit Lions are going to play a game in Munich, Germany this fall; NFL leaks these games out every so often. Amon-Ra St. Brown is the Lions’ star WR; his mother is from Germany, so he is fired up about this game.
— Gunner Rivers, son of future Hall of Fame QB Philip Rivers, is going to follow in his father’s footsteps and go to college at NC State in the fall of 2027. These days, Philip Rivers coaches his son’s high school team in Alabama. Gunner is the team’s quarterback.
— UFL, the spring football league, starts its games in about a month; they’re being used to test some new rules experiments. This year, here are some of their new rules:
a) Field goals of 60+ yards will be worth 4 points
b) You only need one foot inbounds for a completed pass; this would be a big change.
c) You can’t punt if you have the ball in the other team’s territory, except in the last 2:00 of each half.
— World Baseball Classic starts next week, at various places around the world; 4am games from Asia could be interesting. Mets have 17 players representing different countries.
— So far in spring training, when you look at the ABS pitch-challenge system, it seems to favor the pitchers. More catchers’ challenges have been won than hitters’ challenges.
— Pirates 16, Red Sox 7- SS Konnor Griffin, the #1 prospect in baseball, homered twice for the Pirates, drove in four runs. Griffin hasn’t played in AAA yet; no word on where he’ll start the season.
Teams with best eFG% in country:
60.9%— Belmont (25-4)
60.2%— Liberty (23-4)
60.1%— Saint Louis (25-3)
59.8%— St Thomas (21-8)
59.4%— Miami OH (28-0)
58.7%— Michigan (26-2)
Teams that make more shots win more games.
Quote of the Day
“Write down your success of the day. What you focus on shows up more in your life. Create a success journal.”
Jon Gordon
Wednesday’s quiz
Last season, which major league team won the most regular season games?
Tuesday’s quiz
In the movie Molly’s Game, a true story about a woman who ran high stakes poker games, Kevin Costner played her father.
Monday’s quiz
Kevin Ollie was basketball coach at UConn before Danny Hurley.
******************************************
Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….
— Central Florida 97, BYU 84Late-night stunner; Knights led 52-28 at halftime.
Central Florida shot 14-24 on the arc.
BYU is now 4-7 in its last 11 games, after a 16-1 start.
— Arizona 87, Baylor 80
Baylor led 41-34 at halftime, was outscored 53-41 in second half.
Baylor played really well, still lost for 5th time in last six games.
Freshman G Burries had 24 points, four assists for Arizona.
— Dayton 77, Saint Louis 62
Dayton led 44-28 at halftime.
Billikens lost 2 of last 3 games, after a 24-1 start.
Dayton has won four in a row; they only used seven guys.
— Northwestern 72, Indiana 68
Bubble teams shouldn’t lose at home to Northwestern.
Indiana led by 13 late in first half.
Hoosiers lost their last three games, this is a bad time to do that.
— Texas Tech 80, Cincinnati 68
Red Raiders shot 63% inside arc, scored 1.31 ppp.
Christian Anderson scored 31 points, had 11 rebounds, 7 assists.
Loss snaps Cincinnati’s four-game winning streak.
— Missouri 73, Tennessee 69
Mizzou shot 57.9% inside arc; they’re 5-2 in last seven games.
Brickfest; teams combined to shoot 11-41 on the arc.
Only second loss in last ten games for Tennessee.
— Ball State 74, UMass 73 OT
UMass led by 18 with 12:12 left in the game.
Fifth straight loss for UMass, three of them in overtime.
Davion Hill scored 26 points for Ball State.
— Colorado State 74, Fresno State 70
Fresno led by 10 with 10:20 left in the game.
Colorado State shot 58.6% inside the arc.
Rams have won six in a row, after starting 3-8 in Mountain West.
— Famous birthdays, February 25th:
Cesar Cedeno, 75
Bob Brenly, 72
Ed Lynch, 70
Kurt Rambis, 68
Todd Blackledge, 65
Don Majkowski, 62
Tea Leoni, 60
Jeff Fisher, 57
Rashida Jones, 50
Joakim Noah, 41
Jimmer Fredette, 37
Jorge Soler, 34
Erick Fedde, 33
Bo Nix, 26
— NFL Combine starts Thursday; NFL Draft is April 23-25, in Pittsburgh.
Quarterback prospects don’t always throw at the Combine, I don’t get that. What could it hurt? Some guys just throw at the “pro days” at their college, throwing to their college teammates, but teams have to have a pretty good idea by now of who a player is.
NFL Network will be busy the rest of the week; lot of 40-yard dashes.
— Detroit Lions are going to play a game in Munich, Germany this fall; NFL leaks these games out every so often. Amon-Ra St. Brown is the Lions’ star WR; his mother is from Germany, so he is fired up about this game.
— Gunner Rivers, son of future Hall of Fame QB Philip Rivers, is going to follow in his father’s footsteps and go to college at NC State in the fall of 2027. These days, Philip Rivers coaches his son’s high school team in Alabama. Gunner is the team’s quarterback.
— UFL, the spring football league, starts its games in about a month; they’re being used to test some new rules experiments. This year, here are some of their new rules:
a) Field goals of 60+ yards will be worth 4 points
b) You only need one foot inbounds for a completed pass; this would be a big change.
c) You can’t punt if you have the ball in the other team’s territory, except in the last 2:00 of each half.
— World Baseball Classic starts next week, at various places around the world; 4am games from Asia could be interesting. Mets have 17 players representing different countries.
— So far in spring training, when you look at the ABS pitch-challenge system, it seems to favor the pitchers. More catchers’ challenges have been won than hitters’ challenges.
— Pirates 16, Red Sox 7- SS Konnor Griffin, the #1 prospect in baseball, homered twice for the Pirates, drove in four runs. Griffin hasn’t played in AAA yet; no word on where he’ll start the season.
- Sep 10, 2018
- 20,680
- 33
- 48
NHL
Wednesday, February 25
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Trend Report
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Buffalo VS New Jersey
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Buffalo's last 17 games.
Buffalo is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games.
Buffalo is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games against New Jersey.
Buffalo is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Jersey's last 5 games.
New Jersey is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Jersey's last 5 games against Buffalo.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of New Jersey's last 8 games at home.
Philadelphia VS Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 6 games.
Philadelphia is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games.
Philadelphia is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games against Washington.
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Philadelphia's last 10 games on the road.
Washington is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games against Philadelphia.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 7 games at home.
Washington is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Philadelphia.
Toronto VS Tampa Bay
Toronto is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games.
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games against Tampa Bay.
Toronto is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road.
Toronto is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games.
Tampa Bay is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games against Toronto.
Tampa Bay is 10-0 SU in its last 10 games at home.
Seattle VS Dallas
Seattle is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games.
Seattle is 0-9 SU in its last 9 games against Dallas.
Seattle is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road.
Seattle is 0-7 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Dallas.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas' last 5 games.
Dallas is 6-0 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Dallas' last 7 games against Seattle.
Dallas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Colorado VS Utah
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Colorado's last 6 games.
Colorado is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games against Utah.
Colorado is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Colorado's last 7 games when playing on the road against Utah.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Utah's last 9 games.
Utah is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Utah's last 6 games against Colorado.
Utah is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home.
Vegas VS Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Vegas' last 12 games.
Vegas is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games.
Vegas is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games against Los Angeles.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vegas' last 5 games on the road.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles' last 6 games.
Los Angeles is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Los Angeles' last 7 games against Vegas.
Los Angeles is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Winnipeg VS Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Winnipeg's last 9 games.
Winnipeg is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games.
Winnipeg is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games against Vancouver.
Winnipeg is 3-12 SU in its last 15 games on the road.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Vancouver's last 9 games.
Vancouver is 2-17 SU in its last 19 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vancouver's last 5 games against Winnipeg.
Vancouver is 2-12 SU in its last 14 games at home.
Edmonton VS Anaheim
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Edmonton's last 7 games.
Edmonton is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games against Anaheim.
Edmonton is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road.
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Edmonton's last 9 games when playing on the road against Anaheim.
Anaheim is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games.
The total has gone OVER in 15 of Anaheim's last 19 games against Edmonton.
Anaheim is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Anaheim's last 9 games when playing at home against Edmonton.
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Wednesday, February 25
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
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Buffalo VS New Jersey
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Buffalo's last 17 games.
Buffalo is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games.
Buffalo is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games against New Jersey.
Buffalo is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Jersey's last 5 games.
New Jersey is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Jersey's last 5 games against Buffalo.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of New Jersey's last 8 games at home.
Philadelphia VS Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 6 games.
Philadelphia is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games.
Philadelphia is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games against Washington.
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Philadelphia's last 10 games on the road.
Washington is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games against Philadelphia.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 7 games at home.
Washington is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Philadelphia.
Toronto VS Tampa Bay
Toronto is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games.
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games against Tampa Bay.
Toronto is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road.
Toronto is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games.
Tampa Bay is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games against Toronto.
Tampa Bay is 10-0 SU in its last 10 games at home.
Seattle VS Dallas
Seattle is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games.
Seattle is 0-9 SU in its last 9 games against Dallas.
Seattle is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road.
Seattle is 0-7 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Dallas.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas' last 5 games.
Dallas is 6-0 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Dallas' last 7 games against Seattle.
Dallas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Colorado VS Utah
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Colorado's last 6 games.
Colorado is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games against Utah.
Colorado is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Colorado's last 7 games when playing on the road against Utah.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Utah's last 9 games.
Utah is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Utah's last 6 games against Colorado.
Utah is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home.
Vegas VS Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Vegas' last 12 games.
Vegas is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games.
Vegas is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games against Los Angeles.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vegas' last 5 games on the road.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles' last 6 games.
Los Angeles is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Los Angeles' last 7 games against Vegas.
Los Angeles is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Winnipeg VS Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Winnipeg's last 9 games.
Winnipeg is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games.
Winnipeg is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games against Vancouver.
Winnipeg is 3-12 SU in its last 15 games on the road.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Vancouver's last 9 games.
Vancouver is 2-17 SU in its last 19 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vancouver's last 5 games against Winnipeg.
Vancouver is 2-12 SU in its last 14 games at home.
Edmonton VS Anaheim
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Edmonton's last 7 games.
Edmonton is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games against Anaheim.
Edmonton is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road.
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Edmonton's last 9 games when playing on the road against Anaheim.
Anaheim is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games.
The total has gone OVER in 15 of Anaheim's last 19 games against Edmonton.
Anaheim is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Anaheim's last 9 games when playing at home against Edmonton.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, February 25
| Game | Time(ET) | Pick | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHI at WAS | 07:00 PM | WAS -150 O 5.5***** | +500 +500 |
| BUF at NJ | 07:00 PM | BUF -103 O 6.0***** | +500 +500 |
| TOR at TB | 07:30 PM | TOR +192***** O 6.0***** | +500 +500 |
| SEA at DAL | 08:00 PM | SEA +146***** O 5.5***** | +500 +500 |
| COL at UTAH | 09:00 PM | UTAH +111***** O 6.0***** | +500 +500 |
| WIN at VAN | 10:00 PM | VAN +116***** O 6.0***** | +500 +500 |
| VEG at LA | 10:00 PM | VEG +144***** O 5.5***** | +500 +500 |
| EDM at ANA | 10:30 PM | ANA +113***** O 7.0***** | +500 +500 |
CNOTES NHL BEST BETS THRU FEBRUARY
02/25/2026...............4 - 8 - 2..............33.33%...........- 19.15
02/05/2026...............2 - 5 - 0..............28.57%...........- 15.55
02/04/2026.............8 - 12 - 0..............40.00%...........- 15.79
02/03/2026...............4 - 7 - 0..............36.36%............- 13.70
02/02/2026.............7 - 11 - 0.............38.88%............- 18.65
02/01/2026...............2 - 4 - 0.............33.33%............- 10.50
TOTALS...................27 -47 - 0............36.48%.............-93.34
**********************************
CNOTES NHL BEST BETS THRU JANUARY !
TOTALS.............116 - 105- 0..............52.48%................+ 139.55
02/25/2026...............4 - 8 - 2..............33.33%...........- 19.15
02/05/2026...............2 - 5 - 0..............28.57%...........- 15.55
02/04/2026.............8 - 12 - 0..............40.00%...........- 15.79
02/03/2026...............4 - 7 - 0..............36.36%............- 13.70
02/02/2026.............7 - 11 - 0.............38.88%............- 18.65
02/01/2026...............2 - 4 - 0.............33.33%............- 10.50
TOTALS...................27 -47 - 0............36.48%.............-93.34
**********************************
CNOTES NHL BEST BETS THRU JANUARY !
TOTALS.............116 - 105- 0..............52.48%................+ 139.55
Thursday’s 6-pack
Best teams in country at shooting foul shots:
81%— Saint Mary’s
80.8%— Harvard
79.4%— Georgia State
79.3%— Manhattan
79.2%— Marist
79.2%— Illinois
Quote of the Day
“There’s going to be two, two-and-a-half weeks to pick guys’ brains. Talking to them is great but seeing how they operate is another thing. So, aside from winning a gold medal, it would be a pretty good reward for doing that.”
Paul Skenes, talking about pitching for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic
Thursday’s quiz
Matthew Stafford was the first pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, by the Lions. Jets were the next team to select a QB; who did they take with the fifth pick of the first round?
Wednesday’s quiz
Last season, Milwaukee Brewers won the most regular season games in the major leagues.
Tuesday’s quiz
In the movie Molly’s Game, a true story about a woman who ran high stakes poker games, Kevin Costner played her father.
****************************************
St John’s shot 19.6% from the floor in an epic beatdown.
St John’s had won 13 in a row; their last loss was January 3rd.
UConn avenged an 81-72 loss at St John’s three weeks ago.
These teams are now tied in the loss column atop Big East standings.
— Florida 84, Texas 71
Longhorns led 39-36 at halftime, by 2 with 7:14 left.
Florida shot 66.7% inside the arc.
Gators have won eight in row, 17 of last 19 games.
— Vanderbilt 88, Georgia 80
Vandy never trailed, shot 65.7% inside the arc.
Commodores are 9-6 in SEC, 2nd time in last 9 years they’ll at .500 in SEC.
Georgia has lost six of its last nine games.
— LSU 106, Ole Miss 99 2OT
LSU didn’t lead at all in the 2nd half or first overtime.
LSU snaps a five-game losing streak.
Ole Miss lost for the 10th game in a row.
LSU is only 15-13, but they’re 3-0 in overtime games.
— DePaul 72, Creighton 71
Creighton led 38-30 at halftime.
DePaul shot 10-20 on arc, are now 7-10 in Big East.
Last time Blue Demons won 8+ league games in a season? 2007.
Creighton has lost seven of its last nine games.
— Arkansas 99, Texas A&M 84
Arkansas shot 60.4% inside arc, scored 1.29 ppp.
Razorbacks have won seven of their last nine games.
Aggies lost five of their last seven games.
— Famous birthdays, February 26th:
Mac Percival, 86
Phil Villapiano, 77
Kelly Gruber, 64
JT Snow, 58
Marshall Faulk, 53
Jose Reyes, 43
PJ Walker, 31
Trevor Larnach, 29
Dylan Crews, 24
— Jacksonville Jaguars are going to play two “home” games in England this fall, with the games on consecutive Sundays. Washington Commanders will also host a game in England; NFL will play nine games in seven different countries in 2026.
— Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton isn’t going to call plays this coming season; assistant coach Davis Webb will call plays for the first time.
Denver fired their offensive coordinator after a 10-7 home loss to New England in the AFC title game, when the Broncos had only one first down after halftime and didn’t have a possession in the third or fourth quarter longer than 17 yards.
— NFL’s highest-paid kicker last year was the Chiefs’ Harrison Butker, who made $6.4M; Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey wants to become the NFL’s highest paid kicker and he wants $10M a year, 56% higher than Butker’s contract.
Aubrey is a restricted free agent right now, the Cowboys will have to place a tender on him if a long-term deal doesn’t get done by the start of free agency on March 11. If the Cowboys place a 2nd-round tender on him, that means that other teams will be able to make him an offer, and if he leaves, his new team will have to send a 2nd-round pick to Dallas.
— Atlanta Braves P Chris Sale signed a one-year contract extension worth $27M; Sale turns 37 at the end of March; he was 7-5, 2.58 in 20 starts for Atlanta last year. In his 15-year career, he is 145-88, 3.01 in 312 starts.
— St Louis Cardinals are re-building; they were 78-84 last year, missing the playoffs for the third year in a row. Cardinals haven’t had two years in a row under .500 since 1994-95, and 1994 was a strike-shortened season.
Last time the Cardinals has consecutive losing years in full seasons, was 1958-59.
— Several fantasy baseball analysts have convinced themselves that Alex Bregman’s numbers are going to suffer with Bregman now playing for the Cubs.
Bregman played nine years in Houston, played for the Red Sox last year, two home ballparks that are friendly for righty hitters who like to pull the ball. Bregman has 209 career home runs, 293 doubles; his career OPS is 846.
Bregman figures to bat 2nd in the Cubs’ lineup this year, ahead of Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki. Will be interesting to see how he fares with his new team.
— Atlanta Braves announced this week that BravesVision is their local TV home, beginning with this season. Braves chose to control the BravesVision plan instead of having the telecasts produced by Major League Baseball. MLB will produce broadcasts for 14 teams this season.
Best teams in country at shooting foul shots:
81%— Saint Mary’s
80.8%— Harvard
79.4%— Georgia State
79.3%— Manhattan
79.2%— Marist
79.2%— Illinois
Quote of the Day
“There’s going to be two, two-and-a-half weeks to pick guys’ brains. Talking to them is great but seeing how they operate is another thing. So, aside from winning a gold medal, it would be a pretty good reward for doing that.”
Paul Skenes, talking about pitching for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic
Thursday’s quiz
Matthew Stafford was the first pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, by the Lions. Jets were the next team to select a QB; who did they take with the fifth pick of the first round?
Wednesday’s quiz
Last season, Milwaukee Brewers won the most regular season games in the major leagues.
Tuesday’s quiz
In the movie Molly’s Game, a true story about a woman who ran high stakes poker games, Kevin Costner played her father.
****************************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….
— UConn 72, St John’s 40St John’s shot 19.6% from the floor in an epic beatdown.
St John’s had won 13 in a row; their last loss was January 3rd.
UConn avenged an 81-72 loss at St John’s three weeks ago.
These teams are now tied in the loss column atop Big East standings.
— Florida 84, Texas 71
Longhorns led 39-36 at halftime, by 2 with 7:14 left.
Florida shot 66.7% inside the arc.
Gators have won eight in row, 17 of last 19 games.
— Vanderbilt 88, Georgia 80
Vandy never trailed, shot 65.7% inside the arc.
Commodores are 9-6 in SEC, 2nd time in last 9 years they’ll at .500 in SEC.
Georgia has lost six of its last nine games.
— LSU 106, Ole Miss 99 2OT
LSU didn’t lead at all in the 2nd half or first overtime.
LSU snaps a five-game losing streak.
Ole Miss lost for the 10th game in a row.
LSU is only 15-13, but they’re 3-0 in overtime games.
— DePaul 72, Creighton 71
Creighton led 38-30 at halftime.
DePaul shot 10-20 on arc, are now 7-10 in Big East.
Last time Blue Demons won 8+ league games in a season? 2007.
Creighton has lost seven of its last nine games.
— Arkansas 99, Texas A&M 84
Arkansas shot 60.4% inside arc, scored 1.29 ppp.
Razorbacks have won seven of their last nine games.
Aggies lost five of their last seven games.
— Famous birthdays, February 26th:
Mac Percival, 86
Phil Villapiano, 77
Kelly Gruber, 64
JT Snow, 58
Marshall Faulk, 53
Jose Reyes, 43
PJ Walker, 31
Trevor Larnach, 29
Dylan Crews, 24
— Jacksonville Jaguars are going to play two “home” games in England this fall, with the games on consecutive Sundays. Washington Commanders will also host a game in England; NFL will play nine games in seven different countries in 2026.
— Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton isn’t going to call plays this coming season; assistant coach Davis Webb will call plays for the first time.
Denver fired their offensive coordinator after a 10-7 home loss to New England in the AFC title game, when the Broncos had only one first down after halftime and didn’t have a possession in the third or fourth quarter longer than 17 yards.
— NFL’s highest-paid kicker last year was the Chiefs’ Harrison Butker, who made $6.4M; Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey wants to become the NFL’s highest paid kicker and he wants $10M a year, 56% higher than Butker’s contract.
Aubrey is a restricted free agent right now, the Cowboys will have to place a tender on him if a long-term deal doesn’t get done by the start of free agency on March 11. If the Cowboys place a 2nd-round tender on him, that means that other teams will be able to make him an offer, and if he leaves, his new team will have to send a 2nd-round pick to Dallas.
— Atlanta Braves P Chris Sale signed a one-year contract extension worth $27M; Sale turns 37 at the end of March; he was 7-5, 2.58 in 20 starts for Atlanta last year. In his 15-year career, he is 145-88, 3.01 in 312 starts.
— St Louis Cardinals are re-building; they were 78-84 last year, missing the playoffs for the third year in a row. Cardinals haven’t had two years in a row under .500 since 1994-95, and 1994 was a strike-shortened season.
Last time the Cardinals has consecutive losing years in full seasons, was 1958-59.
— Several fantasy baseball analysts have convinced themselves that Alex Bregman’s numbers are going to suffer with Bregman now playing for the Cubs.
Bregman played nine years in Houston, played for the Red Sox last year, two home ballparks that are friendly for righty hitters who like to pull the ball. Bregman has 209 career home runs, 293 doubles; his career OPS is 846.
Bregman figures to bat 2nd in the Cubs’ lineup this year, ahead of Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki. Will be interesting to see how he fares with his new team.
— Atlanta Braves announced this week that BravesVision is their local TV home, beginning with this season. Braves chose to control the BravesVision plan instead of having the telecasts produced by Major League Baseball. MLB will produce broadcasts for 14 teams this season.
